Photo of the Day 243

Water Puddles, Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2006

Photograph by Michael Nichols

Water-filled "potholes" dot the Esplanade, a rock formation on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, as lightning crackles in the distance. The Esplanade region is known for the dramatic weathered-sandstone pillars called hoodoos that dot the landscape.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Unexpected Canyon," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)