A birds-eye view: amazing aerial shots (35 images)

Muslim Pilgrims pray at the birthplace of prophet Mohammed at the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest shrine where some two million Muslims have been gathering for weeks in advance of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on December 4, 2008. More than two million Muslims head to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage. All fit and financially able Muslims are expected to perform the Hajj at least once in their life. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)

AmerenUE officially unveiled its new $490 million, 1.5 billion gallon Taum Sauk reservoir in Lesterville, Missouri on May 27, 2010. On December 14, 2005, Ameren Energy's retention reservoir developed a breech, dumping billions of gallons of water and washing away homes and cars. Water in the fifty-acre upper reservoir of the hydroelectric plant, emptied in 12 minutes raising the level of the Black River in Southeastern Missouri, about 120 miles from St. Louis. The treeless area on the lower left is where the water gushed out of the reservoir. UPI/Ameren UE

A sea of fog covers the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay as the north tower is seen above the fog and in front of the city at sunrise, April 25, 2001. cc/ts/Terry Schmitt UPI

Pilgrims pray at the birthplace of prophet Mohammed at the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest shrine where some 2 million Muslims have been gathering for weeks in advance of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on December 4, 2008. More than two million Muslims head to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia to make the annual Hajj pilgrimage. All fit and financially able Muslims are expected to perform the Hajj at least once in their life. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)