20 stunning photos of unreal landscapes, incredible animals, and mesmerizing underwater scenes

Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

This week National Geographic announced the winners of their annual Nature Photographer of the Year Contest.

Judges chose winners and honorable mentions from 11,000 entries. The four different catagories included: aerials, landscapes, wildlife, and underwater — and a people's choice award was also announced within each.

The grand-prize winning photo of an orangutan crossing a river, taken by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan, was awarded $10,000, and will be printed in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine. Below, see the stunning photos.

Captions provided by National Geographic.

Aerials, third place winner.

Greg C./2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

On the flanks of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, the world's only lava ocean entry spills molten rock into the Pacific Ocean. After erupting in early 2016, the lava flow took about two months to reach the sea, six miles away.

Aerials, second place winner.

Takahiro Bessho/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan.

Aerials, first place winner.

Todd Kennedy/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

In Sydney, Australia, the Pacific Ocean at high tide breaks over a natural rock pool enlarged in the 1930s. Avoiding the crowds at the city’s many beaches, a local swims laps.

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