# List of National Geographic cover stories (2000s)

National Geographic is an American magazine that is noted for its cover stories and accompanying photography. Throughout the 2000s National Geographic's cover stories showcased global historical events such as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. Cover stories included articles written by notable writers such as David Quammen, Peter Hessler and Andrew Marshall. Cover photos were published by notable photographers such as Élisabeth Daynès, Kenneth Garrett and Ira Block.
The 2000s saw articles written and photographed at locations around the globe featuring wildlife like the June 2001 issue titled "Asia's Last Lions", written and photographed by Mattias Klum with a photo on the cover of a lion cub. Articles featured on the cover of the magazine also included human-interest stories such as "Africa's Ragged Edge", written by Paul Salopek and photographed by Pascal Maitre featuring a turbaned horseback rider in the April 2008 issue. Many geographical locations were featured including Yellowstone National Park in the August 2009 article "Yellowstone Supervolcano", written by Joel Achenbach with photographs by George Steinmetz.
In the April 2007 issue, Fen Montaigne wrote the cover story titled "Saving the Sea Bounty", about the dangers that marine life face. The photo on the cover of the magazine featured a swordfish caught in a net, photographed by Brian Skerry.

## 2000

2000 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Celebrations of Earth and Beyond... | January 2000 | Joel Achenbach | NASA | Hubble Space Telescope image |
| Orphan Gorillas | February 2000 | Michael McRae | Michael Nichols | Baby gorilla |
| Madidi | March 2000 | Steve Kemper | Joel Sartore | Macaws |
| Inside the Great White | April 2000 | Peter Benchley | David Doubilet | Great white shark |
| In Search of Vikings | May 2000 | Priit Vesilind | Sisse Brimberg | Icelander bonfire |
| Indus: Clues to an Ancient Civilization | June 2000 | Mike Edwards | Randy Olson | Egret headdress |
| Wrath of the Gods | July 2000 | Rick Gore | Reza | Stone statue of Antiochus I |
| Sydney: Olympic City | August 2000 | Bill Bryson | Griffiths Belt | Sydney Opera House |
| Rana Tharu | September 2000 | Staff writer | Éric Valli Debra Kellner | Rana Tharu woman |
| Wild Gliders of Borneo | October 2000 | Tim Laman | Tim Laman | Wallace's flying frog |
| Lybia | November 2000 | Andrew Cockburn | Reza | Muammar Gaddafi |
| Polar Bears: New Cubs on the Ice | December 2000 | Norbert Rosing | Norbert Rosing | Baby polar bear |

## 2001

2001 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| 2001: The Body in Space | January 2001 | Arthur C. Clarke | Ira Block | Space suit prototype |
| Jewel Scarabs | February 2001 | Ronald D. Cave | David Hawks | Jewel scarab |
| Extreme Africa | March 2001 | David Quammen | Michael Nichols | Mandrill |
| Pharaohs of the Sun | April 2001 | Rick Gore | Kenneth Garrett | Akhenaten |
| Marco Polo: Venice to China | May 2001 | Mike Edwards | Michael Yamashita | Muslim woman |
| Asia's Last Lions | June 2001 | Mattias Klum | Mattias Klum | Lion cubs |
| Grizzly: Cornered | July 2001 | Douglas H. Chadwick | Joel Sartore | Grizzly bear |
| Public Lands Are Going Public | August 2001 | John G. Mitchell | Melissa Farlow | Woman at Burning Man |
| How Old is it? | September 2001 | Zahi Hawass | Bill Ellzey | Egyptian pyramid |
| Tracking the Leopard | October 2001 | Kim Wolhuter | Kim Wolhuter | Leopard |
| Russia: Ten Years After | November 2001 | Fen Montaigne | Gred Lugwig | Russian man |
| Abraham: Father of Three Faiths | December 2001 | Tad Szulc | Rembrandt | The Sacrifice of Isaac |

## 2002

2002 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Wolf to Woof | January 2002 | Karen E. Lange | Robert Clark | WolfDog |
| Etna Ignites | February 2002 | Marco Pinna | Carsten Peter | Mount Etna erupting |
| Diamonds: The Real Story | March 2002 | Andrew Cockburn | Cary Wolisnky | Diamonds |
| Found | April 2002 | Cathy Newman | Steve McCurry | Sharbat Gula |
| The Race to Save Inca Mummies | May 2002 | Guillermo A. Cock | Ira Block | Incan mummy |
| Untold Stories of D-Day | June 2002 | Thomas B. Allen | Mark Thiessen | USS Corry's American flag |
| Bald Eagles: Majesty in Motion | July 2002 | John L. Eliot | Norbert Rosing | Bald eagle |
| The First Pioneer? | August 2002 | Rick Gore | Mauricio Antón | Early Hominid skull |
| Meerkats Stand Tall | September 2002 | Tim Clutton-Brock | Mattias Klum | Meerkat |
| Death on the Nile | October 2002 | A.R. Williams | Kenneth Garrett | Maya |
| Unmasking Skin | November 2002 | Joel Swerdlow | Sarah Leen | Realistic face mask |
| The Magic of Snowy Owls | December 2002 | Lynne Warren | Daniel J. Cox | Snowy owl |

## 2003

2003 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Inside Egypt's Secret Vaults | January 2003 | Zahi Hawass | Kenneth Garrett | Death mask |
| Discovering the First Galaxies | February 2003 | Ron Cohen | Ralf KahlerTom Abel | Star formation |
| Dinosaurs | March 2003 | Joel Achenbach | Robert Crark | Tyrannosaurus skull |
| The Rise of Mammals | April 2003 | Rick Gore | Robert Clark | Mother and child |
| Life and Death on Everest | May 2003 | Sir Edmund Hillary | Yousuf Karsh | Sir Edmund Hillary |
| Unearthing Siberian Gold | June 2003 | Mike Edwards | Sisse Brimberg | Gold stag |
| Divided Korea | July 2003 | Tom O'Neil | Michael Yamashita | South Korean soldier |
| Hidden Tribes of the Amazon | August 2003 | Scott Wallace | Nicolas Reynard | Matis tribesman |
| Zebras! | September 2003 | Andrew Cockburn | Anup and Manoj Shah | Zebras |
| Kingdom on Edge: Saudi Arabia | October 2003 | Frank Viviano | Reza | Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |
| Guardian of the Sun God's Treasure | November 2003 | Alain Zivie | Kenneth Garrett | Egyptian tomb wall |
| The Future of Flying | December 2003 | Michael Klesius | Joe McNally | F-22 Raptor |

## 2004

2004 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Mars: Is There Life in the Ancient Ice? | January 2004 | Oliver Morton | Kees Veenenbos | Mars |
| Great Whites of the North | February 2004 | John L. Eliot | Norbert Rosing | Polar bears |
| Harp Seals: The Hunt for Balance | March 2004 | Kennedy Warne | Brian Skerry | Harp seal pup |
| Chasing Tornados | April 2004 | Priit Vesilind | Carsten Peter | Tornado |
| Change of Heartland | May 2004 | John G. Mitchell | Jim Richardson | Boy and his dogs |
| The End of Cheap Oil | June 2004 | Tim Appenzeller | Sarah Leen | Rush hour traffic |
| Sun Bursts | July 2004 | Curt Suplee | SOHOEITESANASA | Solar flare |
| The Heavy Cost of Fat | August 2004 | Roff Smith | Karen Kasmauski | Obesity |
| Global Warming | September 2004 | Daniel Glick | Peter Essick | Alaska wildfire |
| Red Hot Hawaii | October 2004 | Jennifer S. Holland | Frans Lanting | Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flow |
| Was Darwin Wrong? | November 2004 | David Quammen | Robert Clark | Jamaican lizard |
| Searching the Stars for New Earths | December 2004 | Time Appenzeller | Dana Berry | Moon and a planet |

## 2005

2005 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Why We Love Caffeine | January 2005 | T. R. Reid | Bob Sacha | A cup of coffee |
| The Great Grey Owl | February 2005 | Lynne Warren | Daniel J. Cox | Great grey owl |
| What's In Your Mind | March 2005 | James Shreeve | Cary Wolinsky | Brain sensors |
| Lost World of the Little People | April 2005 | Mike Morwood Thomas Sutinka Richard Roberts | Kenneth Garrett John Gurche | A new species of Hominid |
| Poison: 12 Toxic Tales | May 2005 | Cathy Newman | Cary Wolinsky | Tarantula |
| The New Face of King Tut | June 2005 | A.R. Williams | Kenneth Garrett Élisabeth Daynès | Re-creation of King Tut |
| Stem Cells | July 2005 | Rick Weiss | Max Aguilera-Hellweg | Dyed stem cell cluster |
| After Oil: Powering the Future | August 2005 | Michael Parfit | Sarah Leen | Vintage gas pumps |
| Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again | September 2005 | David Quammen | WorldSat | Africa |
| The Next Killer Flu | October 2005 | Tim Appenzeller | Lynn Johnson | Kanta Subbarao |
| The Secrets of Living Longer | November 2005 | Dan Buettner | David Mclain | Yoga handstand |
| Sea Monsters | December 2005 | Virginia Morell | DamnFX | Prehistoricsea monster |

## 2006

2006 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Our Grandest Canyon | January 2006 | Virginia Morell | John Burcham | Toroweap Overlook |
| Love: The Chemical Reaction | February 2006 | Lauren Slater | Pablo Corral Vega | A couple embracing |
| The Greatest Journey Ever Told | March 2006 | James Shreeve | Chris Johns | Juǀʼhoansi peoples |
| Quake: The Next Big One | April 2006 | Joel Achenbach | UC Berkeley | 1906 earthquake |
| Selling Alaska's Frontier | May 2006 | Joel K. Bourne Jr. | Joel Sartore | Polar bear |
| Why the World Loves Soccer | June 2006 | Sean Wilsey | William Albert Allard | Young football player |
| Panda, Inc. | July 2006 | Lynne Warren | Michael Nichols | Mei Xiang and her cub |
| Killer Hurricanes | August 2006 | Ernest J. Gaines | Ray SternerSteve Babin | Hurricane Katrina |
| China Rising | September 2006 | Brook Larmer | Fritz Hofmann | Model worker statue |
| Places We Must Save | October 2006 | Lynne Warren | Michael Melford | Glen Canyon |
| Found: Earliest Child | November 2006 | Christopher P. Sloan | Kennis & Kennis | Early Hominid baby |
| Saturn as You've Never Seen It | December 2006 | Bill Douthitt | NASA/JPL | Saturn |

## 2007

2007 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Amazon: Forest to Farms | January 2007 | Scott Wallace | Alex Webb | Farm in Pará |
| Healing the Heart | February 2007 | Jennifer Kahn | Robert Clark | Heart |
| Defending a Forgotten Herd | March 2007 | Michael Fay | Michael Nichols | Elephants |
| Saving the Sea Bounty | April 2007 | Fen Montaigne | Brian Skerry | Swordfish in a net |
| Jamestown: The Real Story | May 2007 | Karen E. Lange | British Museum | Native Americans |
| The Big Thaw | June 2007 | Paul Nicklen | James Balog | Iceberg meltwater |
| Malaria | July 2007 | Michael Finkel | David Scharf | Mosquito |
| Mya: How a Great Culture Rose and Fell | August 2007 | Guy Gugliotta | Simon Norfolk | Temple of the Great Jaguar |
| Islam's Fault Line: Pakistan | September 2007 | Don Belt | Reza | Pakistani pilgrim |
| Growing Fuel | October 2007 | Joel K. Bourne Jr. | Robert Clark | Corn |
| Memory: Why We Remember, Why We Forget | November 2007 | Joshua Foer | Maggie Steber Rebecca Hale | Photographs |
| Big Bad Bizarre Dinosaurs | December 2007 | John Updike | DamnFX | Pachycephalosaurus |

## 2008

2008 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Indonesia's Ring of Fire: Volcano Gods | January 2008 | Andrew Marshall | John Stanmeyer | Mount Merapi |
| The Black Pharaohs | February 2008 | Robert Draper | Gregory Manchess | Taharqa |
| Inside Animal Minds | March 2008 | Virginia Morell | Vincent J. Musi | Border Collie |
| Africa's Ragged Edge | April 2008 | Paul Salopek | Pascal Maitre | Turbaned riders |
| China: Inside the Dragon | May 2008 | Peter Hessler | Rob Harrell | Chinese jade dragon |
| Secrets of Stonehenge | June 2008 | Caroline Alexander | Ken Geiger | Stonehenge |
| Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas | July 2008 | Mark Jenkins | Brent Stirton | Gorilla |
| Ancient Iran | August 2008 | Marguerite Del Giudice | Simon Norfolk | Stone relief of a Royal guard |
| Where Food Begins | September 2008 | David Quammen | Mark Thiessen | Soybean plant |
| The Other Humans: Neanderthal Revealed | October 2008 | Stephen S. Hall | Joe McNally | Neanderthal woman |
| The End of Night: Why We Need Darkness | November 2008 | Verlyn Klinkenborg | Jim Richardson | Chicago nightscape |
| The Real King Herod | December 2008 | Tom Mueller | Michael Melford | Masada |

## 2009

2009 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer | Images |
| Gold | January 2009 | Brook Larmer | Robert Clark | Gold facial |
| What Darwin Didn't Know | February 2009 | David Quammen | Mattias Klum | Ololygon littoralis |
| Saving Energy: It Starts at Home | March 2009 | Robert Kunzig | Tyrone Turner | Infrared photo of a house |
| The She-King of Egypt | April 2009 | Chip Brown | Kenneth Garrett | Hatshepsut |
| Ice Baby: Secrets of a Frozen Mammoth | May 2009 | Tom Mueller | Francis Latreille | Baby mammoth |
| The Christian Exodus from the Holy Land | June 2009 | Don Belt | Ed Kashi | Deir Mar Musa |
| Angkor | July 2009 | Richard Stone | Robert Clark | Ta Prohm |
| Yellowstone Supervolcano | August 2009 | Joel Achenbach | George Steinmetz | Grand Prismatic Spring |
| Before New York: Rediscovering the Wilderness of 1609 | September 2009 | Peter Miller | Markley Boyer Robert Clark | Manhattan with trees |
| The Tallest Trees | October 2009 | Joel K. Bourne | Michael Nichols | Redwood trees |
| Egypt's Animal Mummies | November 2009 | A.R. Williams | Richard Barnes | Egyptian mummified cat |
| Are We Alone? | December 2009 | Timothy Ferris | Dana Berry | Planet Gliese 581e |