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
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
NEVER mind being careful not to choke on your food, this mother bird has a bigger challenge on her hands, as her ravenous offspring impatiently launches its head down into her stomach .
THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .
SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .
A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .