List of National Geographic cover stories (1980s)

National Geographic is an American magazine that is noted for its cover stories and accompanying photography.^[1]^[2]^[3] Throughout the 1980s National Geographic's cover stories showcased historical events such as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens^[4] and the effects of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño.^[5] Cover stories included articles written by notable writers such as Peter Benchley,^[6] Gilbert M. Grosvenor^[7] and Rick Gore.^[8] Cover photos were published by notable photographers such as Emory Kristof,^[9] Bill Curtsinger^[10] and David Alan Harvey.^[11]

National Geographic logo

The 1980s saw articles written and photographed at locations around the globe featuring outer space, like the September 1983 issue titled "Satellites That Serve Us", written by Thomas Y. Canby with a photo on the cover of the Space Shuttle Challenger, photographed by NASA.^[12] Articles featured on the cover of the magazine also included human-interest stories such as "Visit to Forbidden Tibet", written and photographed by Fred Ward featuring a Tibetan Shepherdess in the February 1980 issue.^[13] Many geographical locations were featured including the Atlantic Ocean and the discovery of the Titanic in the December 1985 article "How We Found Titanic", written and photographed by Robert Ballard.^[14]

In the June 1985 issue, Debra Denker wrote the cover story titled "Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier", writing about the Soviet and Afghanistan war. The photo on the cover of the magazine featured a picture of a Green-eyed Afghanistan girl (Sharbat Gula) photographed by Steve McCurry. This cover image is National Geographic's most recognized photo.^[15]^[16]

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Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Voyager Views Jupiter's Dazzling Realm	January 1980	Rick Gore	NASA	Jupiter	^[8]
Visit to Forbidden Tibet	February 1980	Fred Ward	Fred Ward	Tibetan woman Shepherdess	^[13]
Journey to China's Far West	March 1980	Rick Gore	Bruce Dale	Chinese elder man	^[17]
Unexpected Glory in Canada's Cold Seas	April 1980	Larry Kohl	David Doubilet	Sea anemone off British Columbia	^[18]
Cheetahs of the Serengeti	May 1980	George W. and Lori Herbison	George W. and Lori Herbison^c	Cheetah cubs on a rock	^[19]
Living With Orangutans	June 1980	Birutė M.F. Galdikas	Rod Brindamour	Baby Orangutan with toddler in a tub	^[20]
Ancient Bulgaria's Golden Treasures	July 1980	Colin Renfrew	James L. Stanfield	Silver horse statue	^[21]
Man's 80 Centuries in Veracruz	August 1980	S. Jeffrey K. Wilkerson	David Hiser	Niches Pyramid	^[22]
Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom and Its Power	September 1980	Robert Azzi	Robert Azzi	Camel race	^[23]
Bamboo, The Giant Grass	October 1980	Luis Marden	Jim Brandenburg	Bamboo swords in China	^[24]
Windsor Castle	November 1980	Anthony Holden	James L. Stanfield	Windsor Castle with horses	^[25]
The Aztecs	December 1980	Bart Dowell	David Hiser	Obsidian knife	^[26]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Mount St. Helens	January 1981	Not stated^d	Douglas Miller	A house in front of Mount St. Helens	^[4]
Where Oil and Wildlife Mix	February 1981	Stephen C. Wilson Karen C. Hayden	Stephen C. Wilson^c Karen C. Hayden^c	Whooping crane	^[27]
When the Space Shuttle Finally Flies	March 1981	Rick Gore	Jon Schneeberger	Space Shuttle	^[28]
Ireland: Its Long Trevail	April 1981	Joseph Judge	Cotton Coulson	Irish stone maze	^[29]
Jawbreaker for Sharks	May 1981	Valerie Taylor	Ron Taylor	Blue shark biting Valeire Taylor's arm	^[30]
The Dispossessed	June 1981	Larry Kohl	Kevin Fleming	Somali child with a Goat	^[31]
Saturn: Riddles of the Rings	July 1981	Rick Gore	NASA	Saturn	^[32]
Maya Art Discovered in Cave	August 1981	George E. Stuart	Wilbur E. Garrett	Maya cave site	^[33]
Troubled Odyssey of Vietnamese Fisherman	September 1981	Harvey Arden	Steve Wall	Vietnamese girl	^[34]
Columbia: Our Phenomenal First Flight	October 1981	John W. Young Robert Crippen	Jon Schneeberger	Space Shuttle	^[35]
The Natural World of Aldo Leopold	November 1981	Boyd Gibbons	Jim Brandenburg	Deer drinking	^[36]
Panda's in the Wild	December 1981	George B. Schaller	George B. Schaller	Panda bear	^[37]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Two Berlins	January 1982	Priit J. Vesilind	Cotton Coulson	East Berlin soldier	^[38]
Napoleon	February 1982	John J. Putnam	Gordon W. Gahan	Giza Plateau	^[39]
Sudan: Arab-African Giant	March 1982	Robert Caputo	Robert Caputo	Sudan woman with boulder on head	^[40]
The Face and Faith of Poland	April 1982	Not stated^e	Not stated^e	Polish Coal miner	^[41]
The Temples of Angkor	May 1982	Peter T. White	David Alan Harvey	Angkor temple	^[11]
Namibia: Nearly a Nation?	June 1982	Bryan Hodgson	Des and Jen Bartlett^c	Ostrich with chick	^[42]
In the Wake of Sinbad	July 1982	Tim Severin	Richard Greenhill	Boom (ship)	^[43]
Papua New Guinea: Journey Through Time	August 1982	François Leydet	David Austin	New Guinea tribesman	^[44]
The Bahamas: Boom times and Buccaneering	September 1982	Peter Benchley	Bruce Dale	Woman diving off of a Sailboat	^[6]
The Chip: Electronic Mini Marvel That is Changing Your Life	October 1982	Allen A. Boraiko	Charles O'Rear	Microchip in the palm of a hand	^[45]
Pueblo Pottery	November 1982	David L. Arnold	Jerry D. Jacka	Clay pottery	^[46]
Family Life of Lions	December 1982	Des and Jen Bartlett	Jen Bartlett	Lioness and her cub	^[47]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Rainforests: Teaming Life of a Rainforest	January 1983	Carol and David Hughes	Carol and David Hughes^c	Poison arrow frog	^[48]
Peoples of the Arctic	February 1983	David Hiser	Alan Harvey	Iñupiat child	^[49]
Ghosts Ships of the War of 1812	March 1983	Daniel A. Nelson	Emory Kristof	Hamilton–Scourge	^[9]
The Fascinating World of Trash	April 1983	Peter T. White	Louie Psihoyos	Art from trash	^[50]
A Century Old, The Wonderful Brooklyn Bridge	May 1983	John G. Morris	Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper	Brooklyn Bridge	^[51]
The Once and Future Universe	June 1983	Rick Gore	David Malin	Horsehead Nebula	^[52]
Exploring a 140-Year-Old Ship Under the Arctic Ice	July 1983	Joseph B. MacInnis	Emory Kristof	WASP diving suit	^[53]
The Bird Men	August 1983	Luis Marden	Charles O'Rear	Ultralight	^[54]
Satellites That Serve Us	September 1983	Thomas Y. Canby	NASA	Space Shuttle Challenger	^[12]
Niger's Wodaabe: "People of the Taboo"	October 1983	Carol Beckwith	Carol Beckwith	Wodaabe man	^[55]
The Last Supper: Restoration Reveals Leonardo's Masterpiece	November 1983	Carlo Bertelli	O. Louis Mazzatenta	The Last Supper	^[56]
Byzantine Empire: Rome of the East	December 1983	Merle Severy	James L. Stanfield	Madonna art	^[57]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Southeast Alaska: An Incredible Feasting of Whales	January 1984	Al Giddings	Al Giddings	Humpback whale	^[58]
El Niño: Global Weather Disaster	February 1984	Thomas Y. Canby	Thomas Nebbia	Elephants at a water hole in Africa with researchers	^[5]
Laser: "A Splendid Light" For Man's Use	March 1984	Allen A. Boraiko	Charles O'Rear	3D Holography	^[59]
Hunting the Greenland Narwhal	April 1984	Ivars Stills	Ivars Stills	Dog sled team	^[60]
The Dead Do Tell Tales at Vesuvius	May 1984	Rick Gore	O. Luis Mazzatenta	Herculaneum skeleton	^[61]
Pakistan to Bangladesh: India By Rail	June 1984	Paul Theroux	Steve McCurry	Train in front of Taj Mahal	^[62]
Escape From Slavery: Underground Railroad	July 1984	Charles L. Blockson	Jerry Pinkney	Harriet Tubman	^[63]
Mexico City: An Alarming Giant	August 1984	Bart McDowell	Stephanie Maze	Mexican pilgrims	^[64]
Man and Manatee	September 1984	Alice J. Hall	Fred Bravendam	Manatee with diver	^[65]
Pollen: Breath of Life and Sneezes	October 1984	Cathy Newman	Martha Cooper	Bubble helmet	^[66]
Chocolate: Food of the Gods	November 1984	Gordon Young	James Stanfield	man with Chocolate Statue of Liberty	^[67]
Monsoons: Life Breath of Half the World	December 1984	Priit J. Visilind	Steve McCurry	Monsoon survivor man with sewing machine	^[68]

List of National Geographic cover stories (1980s)

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

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Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Koko's Kitten	January 1985	Jane Vessels	Ronald H. Cohn	Koko the Gorilla with kitten	^[69]
Greenland's 500-Year-Old Mummies	February 1985	Jens P. Hart Hanson Jørgen Meldgaard Jørgen Nordqvist	John Lee	Qilakitsoq child mummy	^[70]
Hazardous Waste: Storing Up Trouble	March 1985	Allen A. Boraiko	Fred Ward	Man in Hazmat suit	^[71]
When the Moguls Ruled	April 1985	Mike Edwards	Roland Michaud	Woman playing a Sitar, India	^[72]
Vietnam Memorial: To Heal a Nation	May 1985	Joel Swerdlow	Nick Sebastian	man placing flower at Vietnam Memorial	^[73]
Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier	June 1985	Debra Denker	Steve McCurry	Afghan Girl	^[74]
16th-Century Basque Whaling in America	July 1985	Robert Grenier James A. Tuck	16th-Century Shipwreck with diver	Bill Curtsinger	^[10]
Our Restless Planet Earth	August 1985	Rick Gore	David Robert Austin	Jillaroo resting her horse	^[75]
Sichuan: China Changes Course	September 1985	Ross Terrill	Cary Wolinsky	Chinese couple holding a pig	^[76]
Arabia's Frankincense Trail	October 1985	Thomas Abercrombie	Lynn Abercrombie	Dye Motif on a woman's hand	^[77]
The Search For Early Man	November 1985	Richard Leakey Alan Walker	American Bank Note Company	Fossil skull hologram	^[78]
How We Found Titanic	December 1985	Robert Ballard	Robert Ballard	RMS Titanic	^[14]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
C.M. Russell: Cowboy Artist	January 1986	Bart McDowell	MacKay Collection	C.M. Russell watercolor	^[79]
Dilemma of Independence for South Africa's Ndebele	February 1986	David Jeffery	Peter Magubane	South African woman	^[80]
Secrets of the Giant Panda	March 1986	George B. Schaller	George B. Schaller	Zhen Zhen (panda)	^[81]
Río Azul: Lost City of the Mayah	April 1986	Richard E. W. Adams	William H. Bond	Río Azul	^[82]
The Serengeti: A Portfolio	May 1986	Mitsuaki Iwagō	Mitsuaki Iwagō	Lioness and her cub	^[83]
Tracking the Snow Leopard	June 1986	Rodney Jackson Darla Hillard	Not stated^f	Snow Leopard	^[84]
Liberty: Her Lamp Relit	July 1986	Alice J. Hall	Robert Sacha	Statue of Liberty	^[85]
Oregon Trail: The Itch To Move West	August 1986	Boyd Gibbons	Denver Public Library	Settlers	^[86]
North to the Pole	September 1986	Will Steger	Jim Brandenburg	Dogsled explorer	^[87]
Soviets in Space	October 1986	Thomas Y. Canby	TASS	Leonid Kizim	^[88]
Our Search For the True Columbus Landfall	November 1986	Joseph Judge	Courtesy of British Library	1493 Italian Woodcut	^[89]
A Long Last Look at Titanic	December 1986	Robert D. Ballard	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution	RMS Titanic	^[90]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Medicine's New Vision	January 1987	Howard Sochurek	Howard Sochurek	CT scan of a Tumor	^[91]
Iceland: Life Under the Glaciers	February 1987	Louise E. Levathes	Bob Krist	Icelandic girl Ingibjörg Björnsdóttir.^[92]	^[93]
North Dakota: Tough Times on the Prairie	March 1987	Bryan Hodgson	Annie Griffiths	Cropduster Sunflowers with plane	^[94]
Seals and their Kin	April 1987	Roger L. Gentry	Marty Sniderman	Anchovies Sea lions	^[95]
At Home With the Arctic Wolf	May 1987	L. David Mech	Jim Brandenburg	Arctic Wolf	^[96]
The Patowmack Canal: Waterway That Led to the Constitution	June 1987	Author	Kenneth Garrett	A Bateau on the Patowmack Canal	^[97]
The Prodigious Soybean	July 1987	Fred Hapgood	Chris Johns (photographer)	Woman eating a soybean, Japan	^[98]
Africa's Stricken Sahel	August 1987	William S. Ellis	Steve McCurry	Sahel child crying	^[99]
Jade: Stone of Heaven	September 1987	Fred Ward	Fred Ward	Mayan mask	^[100]
Woman of Arabia	October 1987	Marianne Alireza	Jodi Cobb	Saudi mother and child on swing	^[101]
Süleyman the Magnificent	November 1987	Merle Severy	James L. Stanfield	Nomadic child with hand	^[102]
Oldest Known Shipwreck	December 1987	George F. Bass	Bill Curtsinger	Bronze Age Merchant ship	^[103]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
One Hundred Years of Increasing and Diffusing Geographic Knowledge	January 1988	William H. Goetzmann	Not stated^g	Photomontage	^[104]
Australia: A Bicentennial Down Under	February 1988	Not stated^e	Michael O'Brien	Australian father and son	^[105]
Hello Anchorage, Goodbye Dream	March 1988	Larry L. King	Chris Johns	Windsurfing near Icebergs	^[106]
Ghosts of War	April 1988	Peter Benchley	David Doubilet	Japanese biplane underwater	^[107]
Wool: Fabric of History	May 1988	Nina Hyde	Cary Wolinsky	Shepherd wearing wool	^[108]
Guatemala: A Fragile Democracy	June 1988	Griffin Smith Jr.	James Nachtwey	Devout men of Antigua	^[109]
When the Moors Ruled Spain	July 1988	Thomas J. Abercrombie	Bruno Barbey	Moroccan woman	^[110]
Lemurs: On the Edge of Survival	August 1988	Alison Jolly	Frans Lanting	Lemurs	^[111]
100 Years: Reporting on "The world and all that is in it"	September 1988	Not stated^d	Not stated^h	Graphic lettering	^[112]
The Peopling of the Earth	October 1988	Staff writerⁱ	Alexander Marshack	Carving on Mammoth tusk	^[113]
Exploring the Earth	November 1988	William E. Garrett	Éric Valli	Nepalis Honey hunter	^[114]
Can Man Save This Fragile Earth?	December 1988	Gilbert M. Grosvenor	American Bank Note Holographics	3D hologram of an Earth	^[7]

Title^a	Date	Author	Photographer	Images^b	Ref
Ballet with Stingrays	January 1989	David Doubilet	David Doubilet	woman with Stingrays	^[115]
The Great Yellowstone Fires	February 1989	David Jeffery	Stephen Dowell	Yellowstone fires of 1988	^[116]
Faulkner's Mississippi	March 1989	William Albert Allard	William Albert Allard	Woman depicting A Rose for Emily	^[117]
Cry of the Loon	April 1989	Judith W. McIntyre	Michael S. Quinton	Loon	^[118]
The Baltic	May 1989	Priit Vesilind	Cotton Coulson	Kirov Ballet	^[119]
The March Towards Extinction	June 1989	Rick Gore	John Gurche	Dinosaurs	^[120]
France Celebrates its Bicentennial	July 1989	Staff writerⁱ	James L. Stanfield	Fireworks above Eiffel Tower	^[121]
Elephant Talk	August 1989	Katherine Payne	Frans Lanting	Elephants	^[122]
Retracing the First Crusade	September 1989	Tim Severin	Peter Essick	Yugoslavian woman praying	^[123]
La Ruta Maya	October 1989	Wilbur E. Garrett	Kenneth Garrett	Guatemalan teenagers	^[124]
Vietnam: Hard Road to Peace	November 1989	Multiple authors^d	David Alan Harvey	Vietnamese girl boating	^[125]
The Sistine Restoration	December 1989	David Jeffery	Adam Woolfit	Libyan Sibyl	^[126]