National Geographic September 1977

Salt- -The Essence of Life
Gordon Young discovers there is a lot more to the life- sustaining condiment than meets the tongue. Photographs by Volkmar Wentzel and Georg Gerster.
California’s North Coast { California’s Redwood Coast; Redwoods, Rain, and Lots of Room: California’s North Coast}
Judith and Neil Morgan and photographer Dewitt Jones explore the lonely grandeur of the redwoods’ rainy realm.
Leonardo da Vinci: A Man for All Ages
Endlessly curious, impatient, intense, he found a lifetime too short for all his assaults on art, nature, the sciences, even human flight. One of history’s greatest intellects lives anew in the words of Kenneth MacLeish and the photographs of James L. A
Following the Reindeer With Norway’s Lapps { People of the Reindeer; Norway’s Reindeer Lapps}
As their ancestors did before them, a dwindling number of hardy Lapps still wander with their herds across Europe’s frozen north. By Sally Anderson, with photographs by Erik Borg.
Amber, Golden Window on the Past { Golden Window on the Past}
Fossil resin preserves ancient life forms amid a lustrous beauty that has enthralled man for thousands of years. A picture story by naturalist Paul A. Zahl.
Africa’s Gentle Giants
Giraffes, tallest of earth’s creatures, impress wildlife ecologist Bristol Foster with their speed, longevity, and sheer kicking power. Photographs by Bob Campbell and Thomas Nebbia.
Saving the Rothschild’s Giraffe { Rescuing the Rothschild}
A couple adopts young Rothschild giraffes and raises them at their home near Nairobi, Kenya.