1286. "Riga‘s Town Hall Square showcases a variety of architectural gems, some original and some rebuilt."
　　—From "Riga, Latvia: A Baltic Masterpiece Born Again," October 2004, National Geographic Traveler magazine
　　

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　1287. By law, Nenets children spend much of the year in boarding school, while their families move with their reindeer herds. Once they are educated and bilingual in Nenets and Russian, children must make a decision between rejoining their nomadic roots or entering the Russian mainstream.
　　
　　(Text adapted from "Nenets: Surviving on the Siberian Tundra," March 1998, National Geographic magazine)
　　

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　1288. This 76-mile-long (122-kilometer-long), 15-mile-wide (24-kilometer-wide) piece of land is the largest sand island in the world.
　　(Text adapted from the National Geographic book Wild Shores of Australia, 1996)
　　

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　1289. Also known as the brown bear, the Kodiak grizzly bear is the world‘s largest land carnivore.
　　(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In the Wake of the Spill: Ten Years After Exxon Valdez," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)
　　

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　1290.The Sydney Harbour Bridge arches across the skyline behind the sail-like structure of the Sydney Opera House.
　　(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, Wild Shores of Australia, 1996, National Geographic books)
　　

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　1291. "Each year more than three million visitors navigate the treacherous turns of Highway 1 and cross its soaring arch-span bridges, its narrow passes, and the unique curiosities, which artists have called ‘the greatest meeting of land and water in the world.‘"
　　(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Big Sur: California‘s Elemental Coast," May 1998, National Geographic magazine)
　　
　　

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　1292. Without safety ropes, hikers climb the jagged spine of Serendipity Peak. At some points, the fin they walk atop is only 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) wide.
　　
　　(Photograph from “Wilderness by Air,” July/August 1999, National Geographic Traveler magazine)

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　1293. "Monks file past the Sene Temple on their morning outing, during which Luang Prabang residents fill their bowls with offerings of rice. ‘Just this would bring me back here,‘ says the author [P.F. Kluge], ‘a place where the day begins with an act of devotion.‘"
　　—From "A Taste of Old Asia," October 2004, National Geographic Traveler magazine
　　

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1295. Ariaal women haul their loads of vegetables to market under armed guard. Enemy tribesmen prowl the land between Ariaal encampments and town, intent on raids and territory expansion.
　　
　　(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Vanishing Cultures," August 1999, National Geographic magazine)

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　1296. The 2,800-square-mile (7,200-square-kilometer) Kangaroo Island is Australia‘s third largest island. Without the mainland‘s many ecological and environmental problems, Kangaroo Island looks a lot like mainland Australia once did. The 4,500 inhabitants face the dilemma of keeping their island a secret or succumbing to the promise of the tourism industry.
　　(Text adapted from Wild Shores of Australia, 1996, National Geographic Books)
　　
　　

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