Ocean-like Lake Superior can whip up 30-foot waves, daring those who ply its waters. Such rigors create a raw beauty-- and instill an abiding sense of community.

Monument to the wordily aspirations of its namesake ruler and his imperial successors, St. Peters-burg has survived the communist years to rival Moscow as Russia’s cultural center

As they have for centuries, trading peoples of northwestern Nepal cross the high Himalaya in great caravans to barter for salt. Now tourism and development threaten their annual treks.