Awe-Inspiring Photos from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful

By Zach Johnson

America the Beautiful is an apt title for National Geographic’s six-episode Disney+ Original series, premiering Monday, July 4. From the award-winning producers of Frozen Planet, Planet Earth, and the Disneynature films, the docuseries, narrated by Michael B. Jordan, tells the incredible story of North America and its amazing animals.

North America is the most diverse and extreme continent on Earth—the only place, in fact, that includes every landscape. America the Beautiful journeys through the continent’s most spectacular regions: the mountainous Northwest, the steamy South, the arid West, and the endless Heartland. No matter the landscape, there’s an animal who can make it a home. Indeed, the animals of North America have what it takes to overcome the elements and thrive. The sixth episode, titled “Waterland,” introduces the human heroes fighting to preserve wildlife and wild places for generations to come.

Before you take in the majesty of America the Beautiful, enjoy a curated gallery from each episode of the series, which includes photography by Karine Aigner, Neil Anderson, Maddie Close, Chema Domenech, James Evans, Austin Ferguson, Phoebe Fitz, James Frystak, Connor Gallagher, Taylor Gray, Nick Hawkins, Stephen Kirkpatrick, Maaike Middleton, Ty Schmitt, Andrew Studer, and Andrew Thompson, among others.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a male roadrunner hopes to impress a mate by catching a lizard and displaying it proudly before a female roadrunner.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a common dolphin surfs a wave off the coast of California.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a Caribou is on high alert for predators, flanked by the rising peaks of Nelchina Public Use Area in Alaska.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a Western diamondback rattlesnake travels through the scorching desert in search of prey.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a spicebush swallowtail caterpillar is well camouflaged against a forest bathed in fall colors.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a burrowing owl keeps an eye out for changes in the weather.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, it’s Caribou calfing season in Nelchina, Alaska, and that only means one thing for Grizzly bears: dinner. This Grizzly has sniffed a Caribou herd and is on their trail.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a diver holds one of the many sea urchins removed from Monterey Bay by volunteers.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, two Chippewa Cree women dance to celebrate the return of the bison.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the sun reflects on the water of the Yukon flats, which are essential for the survival of migratory caribou.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, cowboys herd their cattle through marshland.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a plane flies over the rolling plains of Montana, surveying suitable land for rewilding animals as part of the American Prairie Reserve project.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, marmots spar with each other, fighting over the best flowers on the slopes of Mount Rainier.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a Grizzly bear mother and her cubs emerge from their dens into a winter wonderland.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, beavers have made the most of the water bodies created by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, helping the landscape recover from the devastation.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the sun lights up the snowcapped Mount Redoubt; it is one of a string of active volcanoes running up the west coast of North America, creating the region’s distinctive habitats.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a sea lion waits for salmon to begin their migration inland at the mouth of the Klamath River, California.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a juvenile bald eagle fights adults for food along the banks of the Chilkat River in Alaska.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a bald eagle looks out for opportunities to feast on the late salmon run, enabled by warm water upwellings in Alaska’s Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, amorous moose three-way spar during the rut in Grand Teton National Park.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a bald eagle in Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve keeps a wary eye on the competition.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the Northern Lights illuminate the sky above North America’s highest peak.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, salmon returning to their spawning ground from the ocean have to navigate the rugged coastline before facing hordes of sea lions at the river mouth.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a fighter jet fitted with a gyro-stabilized camera flies close to speed of sound to capture Grand Canyon National Park in a way that it’s never been seen before.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, two coyotes look out over the city lights of Los Angeles, California.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the sun rises over the sheer cliffs and barren rocks of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a rainbow forms above the Grand Canyon, Arizona, during a monsoon storm.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, lightning strikes during a monsoon storm over the desert in Arizona.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, wildlife cameramen Jake Davis and Pete Matthews survey the Grand Canyon, Arizona, after heavy snowfall, on a hike to check and maintain camera traps deployed along its rim.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, sea otters wrap themselves and their pups up in giant kelp to keep themselves from drifting out to sea.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, an acorn woodpecker looks out from behind a branch in California’s oak woodland.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a Costa’s hummingbird and her two chicks sit in a well-protected nest, built in the heart of a cactus in California’s Mojave Desert.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, honeypot ants create “living larders” deep underground, using specialized workers whose abdomens can swell to the size of a cherry with nectar gathered during times of plenty by their comrades.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, gray whale mothers and calves begin their epic journey up the Pacific coast, from their winter homes in Baja’s lagoons to their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a supercell storm hits the Heartland.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a red fox pounces into the snow, hunting for hidden mice below.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a bobcat mom rests with her young kittens under the decking of an abandoned ranch house.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, snow geese take off in huge flocks on their migration to breeding grounds in the Arctic.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a spotted salamander climbs a pitcher plant looking for a safe spot to shelter.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a burrowing owl looks alarmed from the burrow entrance.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, an American bison walks towards a storm cloud.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a bison herd migrates across the grassland.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a fox with blood on its lip surveys the land.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a manatee surfaces to breathe.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, an alligator hatchling basks in the Southern swamps.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the sunk peeks through the trees in the southern swamps of Lake Martin, Louisiana.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, dolphins strand feed in Kiawah, South Carolina.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, a beach mouse scouts the sand dunes for sea oats.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, two raccoons stay afloat on a log in the water.

In a scene from National Geographic’s America the Beautiful on Disney+, the Florida panther—one of the rarest mammals in the world—saunters across the plant life.

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