Humans have walked the Earth for 190,000 years, a mere blip in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history. A lot has happened in that time. Earth formed and oxygen levels rose in the foundational years of the Precambrian. The productive Paleozoic era gave rise to hard-shelled organisms, vertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth in the mighty Mesozoic. And 64 million years after dinosaurs went extinct, modern humans emerged in the Cenozoic era. The planet has seen an incredible series of changes—discover them for yourself.

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Angry Birds Space

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    Blast Off!

    Take off with the National Geographic Angry Birds Space book as the birds fly through space on an intergalactic rescue mission.

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National Geographic Magazine

  • Photo: Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland

    Iceland's Resilient Beauty

    Over the centuries, humans (and sheep) have taken a toll on the volcano- and glacier-shaped landscape. But what remains is still spectacular.

  • Photo: Sketch of the Louisiana Tigers in Gettysburg

    Civil War Sketches

    Browse through a gallery of historical illustrations depicting both the horrors of battle and the moments of grace, as captured by skilled battlefield artists of the American Civil War.

  • Photo: Possible skull of Mary Magdalene

    Apostles Photo Gallery

    They were unlikely leaders. As the Bible tells it, most knew more about mending nets than winning converts when Jesus said he would make them "fishers of men." Yet 2,000 years later, all over the world, the Apostles are still drawing people in.

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