From giant mountains to vast deserts, an American photographer spent a year capturing the diverse and beautiful landscape of the United States. The breath-taking images were taken by Randy P. Martin, 30, of Portland, Oregon, who travelled hundreds of miles across America and documented the most diverse and beautiful settings along the way. For Randy, the past year has seen him undertake countless road trips, navigate his route with maps made from napkins - with the help of Google Earth, walk miles across fields of lava rock and wake at 3am to see sunrise at 14,000 feet
SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .
These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .
LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .
BLOWING bubbles underwater, this adorable polar bear slides into his tank for a playful dip .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
Beautiful turquoise waves rise and fall in a series of stunning images taken along the coastline of south-eastern Australia .
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .