NAT GEO's Best Pictures of 2009....!

National Geographic's International Photography Contest
attracts thousands of entries from photographers of all skill levels around the world every year.
Here are some of the best entriesA of 2009

Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock,

Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist
attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the
animal and the human being. (Photo and caption by Cesare Naldi)

 

On the final leg of a six-week United States of America road trip, I was driving east across Interstate 40 when a spot storm with golf ball-sized hail struck

. A sign near Groom, Texas, announcing the "largest cross in the western hemisphere" explained the large crucifix I’d been wondering about for
miles on the highway; it seemed like an OK place to wait out the storm. On my way to getting stuck in the mud and a giant double rainbow,
I saw this silhouetted view of the cross, splitting the sunny sky from the stormy plains. (Photo and caption by Brad Maule)

A stone's-eye-view of two tracks made by the sailing stones of Death Valley's Racetrack playa. The dried clay surface has a beautiful texture,

and there is a palpable aura of mystery over the entire three-square-mile playa. The Racetrack was not entirely free of human influence though:
several weeks before this taken many of the stones were stolen, leaving long trails without a traveler at the end.
(Photo and caption by Tucker Sylvestro)

The edge of an iceberg floating just off the cost of Antarctica. (Photo and caption by Mike Matas)

While visiting Kruger National Park with my son, we came across two male hippos battling for dominance as we crossed a bridge over the Sabie River.

The bellowing from the animals as they fought their bloody battle was incredible. They first fought in the shallows near the bank and
then moved into the deeper part of the river. We don't know how it turned out but we were so glad to see the spectacle.
(Photo and caption by Steve Mandel)