About halfway down the Oregon coast, the picturesque Yaquina Head Lighthouse welcomes you to Newport, a town known for its Dungeness crab and glorious harbor under the graceful Yaquina Bay Bridge. The historic Bayfront offers a mixture of shops, galleries, canneries and restaurants that serve fresh clam chowder, shrimp, oysters, crab and salmon.

Lake Nokoué is a large lagoon lake in southern Benin, stretching along the Atlantic coastal plain near the cities of Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Abomey-Calavi. Covering a broad area of shallow water connected to rivers, marshes, and the sea, it plays an important role in transportation, fishing, and daily life for surrounding communities.

The lake is approximately 720 acres, with about twenty-one miles of shoreline. National Geographic has called Lake Lure one of the most beautiful man-made lakes in the world.

Queen Elizabeth National Park, in western Uganda, is one of East Africa’s most diverse and scenic protected areas. Stretching from the Rwenzori Mountains to the shores of Lake Edward, the park encompasses savannah, wetlands, and dense forests, making it a sanctuary for an incredible array of wildlife.

Joplin, Missouri, sits in the southwestern corner of the state within the Ozarks region, where rolling woodland, limestone formations, and waterways surround a city shaped by mining, transportation, and Route 66. Its downtown combines historic buildings, murals, independent businesses, restaurants, and cultural venues, while the Murphysburg Historic District preserves some of the community’s older residential architecture.