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Park Ranger Leonard Landa with the bear that killed Michele Koons.

The Deadly Grizzly Bear Attacks That Changed the National Park Service Forever

Visitors to Glacier National Park had long conditioned the predators to seek food from humans, making the maulings somewhat inevitable

You have to swim to reach the world's first underwater post office in Vanuatu.

Whale Mail Is the New Snail Mail at the World’s First Underwater Post Office

All you need to reach the Vanuatu Post is a deep breath and a waterproof postcard

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A Brief History of Eclipse Chasers

They also go by umbraphiles, coronaphiles, eclipsoholics and ecliptomaniacs

Armenia

Each Summer, These Armenian Villages Are Taken Over by Hundreds of White Storks

Villagers participate in a “Nest Neighbors” program to monitor the health of their new house guests

Switzerland Just Opened the World’s Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge

You won’t — but you definitely will — want to look down

How Baltimore Quietly Became the East Coast’s Next Cool City

One native Marylander travels to the city he first knew as a kid to meet the doers and dreamers driving Baltimore’s next act

This summer, Smithsonian reporters took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Freer Gallery and shot exclusive photographs of the building in its preparatory state.

Take an Exclusive Sneak Peek Inside the Renovated Freer Gallery, Reopening in October

Charles Lang Freer gifted this meditative haven for art lovers to the nation and was James McNeill Whistler’s friend and patron

Aurora Australis seen over Lake Dunstan, New Zealand.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

The Best Places to See the Southern Lights

The aurora australis is the southern cousin to the northern lights

Highly social, narwhals travel in pods, often broken off by sex, and communicate via complex vocalizations that seem to be specific to their herds.

Does the Narwhal’s Majestic Tusk Have a Point?

A Connecticut dentist, turned curator of a new exhibition, has long worked to solve the secrets of the whale’s characteristic horn

This Breathtaking Landscape Is Canada’s Newest Protected Area

The park includes a spectacular beach described in sagas that chronicle Viking explorations of the Canadian coast

Armenia

Unraveling the Mystery of the “Armenian Stonehenge”

Amelia Ceja is breaking boundaries at Ceja Vineyards, which was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando and Martha Ceja.

Food, Glorious Food

¡Salud! to the Mexican-American Wine Revolution

Ceja Vineyards breathes new life into Napa Valley’s wine industry

Cenote Ik-Kil, Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico

Dive Into Five of the World’s Deepest Freshwater Swimming Holes

Take the plunge into some interesting geology

A "flukeprint" is a patch of calm water on the surface created when a whale flaps its tail as it cruises along just out of sight.

How to Spot a Hidden Whale

Just as a hunter leaves a trail in the snow, a whale forms prints on the water’s surface

NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia.

Eight of the World’s Best Destinations for Stargazing

Where to find the clearest, darkest skies – from Pennsylvania to the Canary Islands

Webster's Waterfall is just one of more than 150 waterfalls located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Just 50 Miles From Niagara Falls Lies the True Waterfall Capital of the World

Niagara Falls has nothing on Hamilton, a Canadian city with more than 150 waterfalls

The preserved whale heart weighs approximately 400 pounds.

Canada

The Painstaking Process of Preserving a 400-Pound Blue Whale Heart

This massive specimen is now on display in Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum

Over 60,000 Plants Bloom Inside the World’s Largest Orchid Garden

Step inside Singapore’s National Orchid Garden, a collection that includes 600 newly created hybrid species

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal.

Canada

This Bridge Transforms Data on Weather, Traffic and Twitter Rants into a Beautiful Light Display

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal lights up the skyline with the mood of the city

The Mars Rover Concept Vehicle was created as a traveling exhibit to inspire future space explorers.

A Vehicle Like This Will One Day Go to Mars

For now, the prototype rover—part tank, part Batmobile—is destined for Washington, D.C.

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