The World's Most Amazing Images Of 2013 Will Take Your Breath Away (PHOTOS)

PHOTOS: You'll Be Booking A Plane Ticket Instantly After You See These Images

Throughout the year, we posted weekly galleries of the best animal images and extreme weather photos. This time, we're concluding 2013 with a round-up of the best nature photographs, and they're absolutely incredible.

So amid political turmoil and economic woes, let's take a moment to reflect on the natural beauty of the world around us that's captured in this gallery. These images travel you across the globe while making you feel alive and igniting a passion for adventure in 2014.

These photographs won't let you down. Without further adieu, let's review 2013 with these stunning images:

The World's Most Stunning Images From 2013
Christophe Simon / AFP / Getty Images
Sunset over Rio de Janeiro, on November 15, 2013. (Christophe Simon / AFP / Getty Images)
Robin Utrecht, AFP / Getty Images
Snow covers the historic windmills at Kinderdijk, The Netherlands, on January 15, 2013. In 1997 the windmills were put on the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Robin Utrecht, AFP / Getty Images)
Buddhika Weerasinghe / Getty Images
A bee flies in front of a sunflower planted on July 11, 2013 in Sayo, Japan. Approximately 1.2 million sunflowers are planted in 24.1 hectares over six sunflower fields in the city of Sayo, Hyogo Prefecture, west Japan. (Buddhika Weerasinghe / Getty Images)
Emilio Morenatti/AP
A delivery man pushes a wheelbarrow following a storm in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, March 6 , 2013. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg / Getty Images
The Tokyo Tower, center, stands amid other buildings as it is reflected on a table at dusk in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Japanese companies eased off on capital-spending growth in the third quarter and failed to step up exports even with a cheaper yen, contributing to an economic slowdown that puts pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images
Near totality is seen during the solar eclipse at Palm Cove on November 14, 2012 in Palm Cove, Australia. Thousands of eclipse-watchers have gathered in part of North Queensland to enjoy the solar eclipse, the first in Australia in a decade. (Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images)
Arturo Andrade / AFP / Getty Images
A cloud of ash belches out of Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, some 55 km from Mexico City, as seen from Paso de Cortes, in the Mexican central state of Puebla, on May 20, 2013. Authorities have raised the alert level to "Yellow Phase Three," the fifth of a seven-stage warning system, restricting access to an area of 12 km around the volcano while preparing evacuation routes and shelters. (Arturo Andrade / AFP / Getty Images)
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
A full moon is seen over an iceberg that broke off from the Jakobshavn Glacier on July 23, 2013 in Ilulissat, Greenland. As the sea levels around the globe rise, researchers affilitated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of the melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications. The warmer temperatures that have had an effect on the glaciers in Greenland also have altered the ways in which the local populace farm, fish, hunt and even travel across land. In recent years, sea level rise in places such as Miami Beach has led to increased street flooding and prompted leaders such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to propose a $19.5 billion plan to boost the city’s capacity to withstand future extreme weather events by, among other things, devising mechanisms to withstand flooding. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Cherry blossoms bloom on the edge of the Tidal Basin after a colder than normal March and chilly April delayed the beginning of the cherry blossom season in the nation's capital April 8, 2013 in Washington, DC. Peak bloom was originally predicted between March 26 and March 30th, with the revised prediction moving to April 6-10. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)
Dimitri Messinis/AP
The monastery of Agia Trias is seen at Meteora in northern central Greece, on Tuesday May 14, 2013. Meteora, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is best known for its clifftop monasteries, some more than 500-years old. Greece is hoping for a busy tourist season with foreign visitors in 2013, but hotel associations at destinations like Meteora, which are favored by the domestic market, have reported weak bookings from Greek people so far this year as the country continues to suffer through financial crisis. (Dimitri Messinis/AP)
Marius Becker/dpa/AP
Buildings are reflected in the floodwater of the river Danube in Deggendorf, southern Germany, Friday, June 7, 2013. Heavy rainfalls in the past days caused flooding along rivers and lakes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. (Marius Becker/dpa/AP)
Binsar Bakkara/AP
This picture made with slow shutter speed shows Mount Sinabung spewing volcanic ash as seen from Tiga Pancur, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. The 2,600-meter (8,530-foot) -high volcano has been erupting since Sunday, unleashing volcanic ash high into the sky and forcing the evacuation of villagers living around its slope. (Binsar Bakkara/AP)
Ted S. Warren/AP
A blue sky begins to emerge from early morning clouds and fog as the Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company pulp and paper mill operates along with cargo container cranes at the Port of Tacoma, Thursday, May 16, 2013, in Tacoma, Wash. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
Rainer Jensen/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
View of roofed wicker beach chairs in light snowfall at lido Strandbad Wannsee in Berlin, Germany, 29 March 2013. Bathing season at the lido traditionally starts on Good Friday. (Rainer Jensen/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
Patrick Pleul/dpa/AP
In this picture made available Friday, May 10, 2013, flashlights light the sky over a wind energy park during a thunderstorm near Jacobsdorf, eastern Germany, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (Patrick Pleul/dpa/AP)
Hatem Moussa/AP
A Palestinian man rides a bicycle on the beach of Gaza City during sunset on Tuesday. April 9, 2013. (Hatem Moussa/AP)
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
The sun's rays strike the rocky coast of Acadia National Park, in Maine, Thursday, May 2, 2013. A federal budget-related delay has pushed back the opening of many of the park's seasonal facilities until May 17. Acadia saw a 5 percent funding cut of it's roughly $7.8 million budget on March 1. The cut represented the National Park Service’s share of federal sequestration. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
Matthew Ziegler/AP
One World Trade Center emerges from the clouds in the night sky in a photo made from a passing airplane, Monday, March 11, 2013 in New York. Construction continues on the office complex going up on the site of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Matthew Ziegler/AP)
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
In this May 7, 2013 photo, trees are reflected in water in Epecuen, a village that once was submerged in water in Argentina. Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and set up new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials. (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)
Markus Schreiber/AP
A man walks through the Tiergarten park after fresh snow falls hit Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Unfriendly winter weather continues in northern and eastern Germany on the last day of winter. (Markus Schreiber/AP)
Cristina Quicler / AFP / Getty Images
Black poplars are pictured at Fuente Vaqueros, near Granada on February 17, 2013. (Cristina Quicler / AFP / Getty Images)
Sergei Grits/AP
Steam from a heating plant rises as at temperatures of -14 degrees Celsius (-6.8 degrees Fahrenheit) are recorded in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2012. (Sergei Grits, AP)
Karen Bleier / AFP / Getty Images
A view of the Blue Ridge mountains seen from Skyline Drive early November 23, 2013 in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. (Karen Bleier / AFP / Getty Images)

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