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Robert Harding

Patterns in Nature

Naturally occurring patterns such as fractals, waves and spirals were studied by the Greek philosophers to discover order in nature. Meanwhile, manmade patterns often follow natural forms, both by conscious design and by unconscious happenstance.
Typical Cuban land snails - 817-12345
Chameleon tail (Chamaleo dilepsis) - 817-2030
Two cyclones formed in tandem in November 2006 - 817-183651
Aerial view displaying erosion patterns on flood plains left by jokulhlaups (glacier bursts) that occur when geothermal heat melts subglacial ice and water bursts through in a catastrophic flood. - 817-442539
Dunes at dawn, White Sands National Park, New Mexico, United States of America (U.S.A.), North America - 136-2204
Cucumber tendril. - 817-30992
Aloe (Aloe polyphylla) - 817-123034
Nautilus fossil - 817-445523
Hawaii, Big Island, Ama'u Fern (Sadleria Cyatheoides). - 1116-31751
Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus), Close up of individual showing spiral formation, Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, Caribbean - 970-617
A colony of salps (phylum - Urochordata) that has formed itself into a spiral and is floating at the surface of the ocean, Found in the kelp forests off the Channel Islands of California - 817-181521
Polished ammonite slice showing chambers infilled with calcite - 817-164274
Contour plowed fields of golden wheat, Washington state - 788-10793
Spider web - 817-12103
Canopy of acer leaves in autumn, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - 847-84
Aerial view from hot air balloon of sand road cutting across desert landscape covered in Fairy Circles, Namib Rand game reserve Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia, Africa - 321-5242
Bluespotted Stingray (taeniura lymma) close-up top view, Naama Bay, off Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai, Red Sea, Egypt, North Africa, Africa - 974-347
Three American avocet (Recurvirostra americana), Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States of America, North America - 764-3592
Flock of sheep, Sardinia, Italy, Mediterranean, Europe - 739-213
Man walking through The Wave, Coyote Butte, Paria Canyon Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Kanab, Arizona, United States of America, North America - 843-33
Sandstone wave, Paria Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona, United States of America (U.S.A.), North America - 321-3947
Ripples in the sand, Sossusvlei, Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia, Africa - 321-3066
Saguaro cactus detail, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, United States of America, North America - 776-1928
Plains zebra, Burchell's zebra, Equus burchellii, Khwai River, Botswana, Africa - 748-422
French West Indies, Guadeloupe, Close Up On A Palm - 700-11766
Field patterns at dawn, Palouse, Washington State, United States of America, North America - 667-2400
Ice pattern in frozen pond, Dartmoor, Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - 799-2345
Ski tracks *** Local Caption *** - 728-605
Frost flowers on window - 817-242705
Caladium (Caladium sp.) leaf veins - 817-12645
Ice patterns in a Dartmoor pond in winter, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - 799-661
Close-up of skin, Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis), Madagascar - 817-75772
Mass sports display, Plzen, West Bohemia, Czech Republic, Europe - 450-3561
Honeycomb cells partially filled with honey prior to being covered over with wax. - 817-105944
Leaves in autum, Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain - 817-48303
Close-up of Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), Kruger National Park, South Africa, Africa - 743-757
Banana tree, Kerobokan, Bali, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia - 748-1294
Bamburgh castle and Bamburgh beach, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, Europe - 321-3899
Ferns - 641-12603
Rain drops falling in rain water - 817-190547
Pink Rose Flower Curves, Rosa hybrid, May 2007, Maryland, USA - 817-180048
Graphic pattern of ice, frost flowers - 832-152922
A pattern of tall palm trees against a blue twilight sky. - 857-29344
Sand crab hole in the sand, pattern - 832-27069
Burchell's zebra (Equus burchellii), Etosha National Park, Namibia, Africa - 741-4287
Close-up of a pattern on a leaf - 788-8889
Pattern of sun on sand dune in Sinai, Egypt, North Africa, Africa - 825-94
Graphic Sand Dunes pattern in the south of the country, North Africa, Tunisia. - 857-24591
Closeup of a beautiful green palm tree in Ziguinchor, casamance, senegal - 857-93043
Fatbike Tire track in the sand - 857-91753
Close-up of palm leaf, Jamaica - 1178-16321
Close up of cactus - 1178-16791
Eye of a peacock feather - 1178-3071
Close up of zebra fur - 1178-2608
Close up of leaves - 1178-2726
Honeycomb - 832-377449
Starfish (Evasterias retifera), close-up, Japan Sea, Primorsky Krai, Russian Federation, Far East - 832-375039
Honeycomb - 832-377448
Ubari dunes in the Libyan Desert, Sahara, Libya, North Africa, Africa - 832-374879
Diatom, Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University - 1173-759
Leopard skin, Panthera pardus, Botswana - 1173-4186
Pink mesem flowers, Mesembryanthemum sp, Namaqualand National Park, South Africa - 1173-1443
Military macaw wing feathers, Ara militaris, Peru - 1173-4396
Diatom, Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University - 1173-765
Nautilus shell, Nautilus sp, South Pacific Ocean - 1173-1499
Diatom, Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University - 1173-767
Snow goose wing feathers, Chen caerulescens, Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, California - 1173-4395
Zebra skin, Equus quagga, Botswana - 1173-1346
Abstract Reflections, Inle Lake, Myanmar, Inle Lake, Myanmar - 1173-139