A 1639 watercolor painting of Havana Harbor, Cuba. The recorded history of Cuba dates to 1492, with the arrival of Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the Americas. Prior to that, the island had been inhabited by the Guanajatabey, Ciboney and Taíno peoples. By 1514, the Spanish had founded a settlement that eventually became Havana.

Artist: Joan Vinckeboons; Restoration: Lise Broer

Upper Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The 187-metre (614 ft) three-tiered seasonal waterfall is fed by Kedumba Creek and is the namesake of the nearby town of Wentworth Falls. Near the falls, there is a rocky knoll that has a large number of grinding grooves created by rubbing stone implements on the rock to shape and sharpen them. These marks have been determined to be signs of early human habitation nearby.

Photo credit: David Iliff

A whole apricot fruit and the cross-section of a second one. The apricot tree has been cultivated since prehistoric times. The scientific name Prunus armeniaca derives from the original assumption that the tree is native to Armenia, but more recent scholarship places the origin in China or India. Today the cultivars are grown worldwide.

Photo credit: Fir0002

The Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) is a very large (58–66 cm (23–26 in) in length) gull native to the coasts of Australia. It is less common than the Silver Gull, and its numbers have been declining in some parts due to competition from the Kelp Gull. Pacific Gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks

The umber-brown puffball (Lycoperdon umbrinum) is a puffball mushroom ranging from 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2.0 in) tall and 1 to 4 cm (0.4 to 1.6 in) broad. It has a fruiting body that is shaped like a top or a pear, with a short, partly buried stipe.

Photo credit: Michael Maggs

A chiaroscuro woodcut of Mary and the infant Jesus. Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already the betrothed wife of Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of Jewish marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. A number of important doctrines concerning Mary are held by Catholic churches. Primary among these is that as mother of Jesus, Mary became Theotokos, literally the "God-bearer", or "Mother of God".

Artist: Bartolommeo Coriolano; Restoration: Lise Broer

Two mating wasps of the subfamily Cremastinae. Species classified in this subfamily are parasitoids of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera larvae in tunnels, leaf rolls, buds and galls.

Photo credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

An 1868 photo of an Argentine gaucho. The term "gaucho" is used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile and Southern Region, Brazil. It is a loose equivalent to the North American "cowboy" and often connotes the 19th century more than the present day. In those days, gauchos made up the majority of the rural population, herding cows on the vast estancias, and practicing hunting as their main economic activities.

Photo: Courret Hermanos; Restoration: Lise Broer

The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam is a five-star hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on the east bank of the river Amstel. It opened in 1867 and was the first Grand Hotel in the country. The hotel underwent significant renovations in 1992 at a cost of 70 million guilders.

Photo credit: Massimo Catarinella

MS Majesty of the Seas is a Sovereign class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International, a cruise line based in Miami, Florida. Her sister ship MS Sovereign of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in the world at the time of its completion in 1988.

Photo credit: UpstateNYer

Crocoite is a mineral consisting of lead(II) chromate and crystallizing in a monoclinic crystal system, and it is the only chromate of any importance found in nature. This specimen comes from Dundas, Tasmania. Crocoite is the official mineral emblem of Tasmania.

Photo credit: Noodle snacks