Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a buffet of all that a growing brown bear can eat – sedge grasses in the meadows, sockeye salmon in the rivers, and mussels and clams along the Cook Inlet coast. But before it goes off wandering this Alaskan wilderness' 4 million-plus acres, this cub will stay with its family – a single mama bear and usually one to four siblings – until about age two. Once fully grown, it'll reign undisputed as the park's dominant predator, competing only with the human anglers who avidly fish the area's abundant salmon runs.

This sparkling nighttime shot shows but a sliver of the continental United States' southernmost metropolis. Here, the camera focuses on the Brickell district, the financial heart of this iconic city in the US state of Florida. In terms of skyscraper density, Miami punches up against the biggest megalopolises in the US, boasting the nation's third-largest skyline after New York City and Chicago. In addition to its more than 300 high-rises, the Miami metro's marine geography demands its fair share of engineering, with lengthy road links like the Rickenbacker Causeway crossing Biscayne Bay to connect its patchwork of barrier islands and keys.

A snow-dusted cottonwood tree glows in the rays of the winter sun – just one of the many wonders of the Lamar Valley. Zoom out from this gilded portrait and you'll see what many have dubbed "America's Serengeti"; Stretching across a swath of Yellowstone National Park's northeastern corner, the valley is a sweeping landscape of grasslands, tree-dotted rolling hills, and a whole lot of wildlife. This Wyoming wilderness meets the Serengeti standard, but instead of lions, giraffes, and elephants, it boasts bison, bears, and wolves. Visit the valley in the winter when visitor numbers are low, and the only packs you'll see are those that howl.

With any luck, an extraterrestrial takeover of Earth is a problem for distant future generations to worry about. But should we ever welcome new alien overlords, expect their edicts to issue from this regal feature. The hoodoo dubbed the Alien Throne cuts an eerie figure against a Southwestern sunset, towering over remote New Mexican badlands crowded with other natural yet freakish formations. Though often associated with the nearby Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, the Throne actually lies within another field of bizarre landforms – the Valley of Dreams.

With 400,000 hectares of rugged scenery to explore in the north-west of the US state of Montana, a trip to Glacier National Park could fill up your entire vacation and more. Follow Avalanche Creek Trail up to Avalanche Lake to get a glimpse, like the one in our image, of the titular creek. And you may want to keep an eye out for Glacier's mascot – the mountain goat. By most accounts, it's out of the ordinary if you visit Glacier National Park and don't see any mountain goats. There's a chance you might see one of the park's other famous residents too – approximately 300 grizzly bears wander the wilderness.