Nature Sound Libraries
Quiet Planet provides pristine nature recordings for producers of film, television, video games, museum exhibits, websites, phone apps, music, and online publications. Every sound in our catalog has been captured in the field by acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, whose three decades of work have earned him an Emmy and international recognition.
These are not processed loops or studio recreations. Each recording preserves the full dynamic range and spatial depth of a real place, from the quietest forest floor to thundering canyon waterfalls. Available as high-quality digital downloads, our libraries give you broadcast-ready audio you can trust.
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Featured Collections
Hand-picked sound libraries from our catalog of award-winning field recordings.
Tropical Forests
This diverse and well-balanced collection of jungle ambiences includes insects, frogs, birds, monkeys, and more, recorded on four continents and in varying ecosystems. If you need a lush sounding animal symphony, it’s all here. Dry or wet, low along river basins, or even high on mountainsides. How about a pristine dawn arriving from miles away, a passing breeze, or even a drenching thunderstorm? All 153 sound files (more than ten hours) have smart metadata with geographic location and indicate which animals are audible (SoundMiner® readable). Howler Monkeys, Great Potoos, Red- tailed Black Cockatoos, Trogons, Macaws, Toucans, all in their natural habitats, plus 600 more species are identified. In addition, there are two valuable guides. Sound Designing with Tropical Forests and How to Record Tropical Forests. Learn how to pair sound pyramids with ecological information to confidently design authentic soundscapes and receive helpful tips about how to avoid physical dangers and stay safe and tips on how to keep your equipment running to record the Earth’s living music. View content: Download PDF
Waves
Waves are among the most universally appealing of all nature sounds. They range from the gentle wash of spring tide that gently tinkles coastal seashell shards to winter’s thundering onshore stampede of white-maned giants. This carefully recorded collection of 111 loops is classified by wave size and beach substrate (solid rock, boulder, pebble, sand) for fast and accurate sound design. Lake ripples, wave-tossed boulders, seawater spouting through lava tubes, even the roar of a sandy beach from a mile away—they’re all here. Metadata provides valuable information such as description, geographic location, and helpful tips on how to use a particular file to achieve best results (SoundMiner® readable). Includes two valuable guides: Sound Designing with Waves to unlock the true power of waves for Sound Designers and How to Record Waves for field recordists who are ready to explore. View content: Download PDF
Thunder & Rain
This collection provides everything you need to produce the perfect storm–22 isolated thunders, including close strikes, resonant peels and distant rolls; plus 35 different rain intensities, and nine storm recordings. There’s one entire, hour-long rainstorm (61 min.) and one complete thunderstorm (41 min.) for quickly finding just the sound you need at the length you want. None of these thunder and rain files appear in the Essentials Collection. SoundMiner® readable metadata include: description, type of substrate, and geographic location. View content: Download PDF
Quietudes
Quietudes is the first collection of its kind--habitat ambiences that occur at or near the threshold of human hearing. Verging at the edge of design, these experiences add depth of field and enhance continuity. Quietudes also restore frequencies that may have been lost during audio processing. All of the Quiet Planet® habitat types are covered here, offering a careful selection of 100 ambiences from around the world (Prairies, Tropical Forests, Deciduous Forests, Wetlands, Coniferous Forests, Canyons, Deserts, Riparian, Ocean Shores, and Hawaii). These hard-to-hear but easy-to-listen-to sounds will quickly become your finishing touch coup de grace. Included are two helpful guides: Sound Designing with Quietudes and How to Record Quietudes. Metadata provides valuable information such as habitat type, geographic location, time of day, and usage tips for best results (SoundMiner® readable). View content: Download PDF
The Recordist
All of the nature sounds in the Quiet Planet catalog were recorded by Gordon Hempton, an Emmy Award-winning sound recordist and acoustic ecologist. For more than three decades, Hempton has traveled the globe capturing the vanishing soundscapes of the natural world.
Known as "The Sound Tracker," Hempton is the author of One Square Inch of Silence, a book that chronicles his quest to protect the last quiet places in America. His work has been featured in documentaries, museum installations, and broadcast media worldwide, and his recordings set the standard for pristine field audio.
Faced with habitat loss, species extinction, and the spread of noise pollution, Hempton has turned his attention to preserving the world's few remaining natural amphitheaters, places where you can still hear the earth as it once sounded everywhere.
Recorded Around the World
- Canyons - Southwest Utah, USA
- Coniferous Forests - Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA
- Deciduous Forests - Appalachian Region, USA
- Deserts - Mojave and Sonoran, USA
- Flowing Water - Pacific Northwest, USA
- Hawaii - Big Island, Hawaii
- Ocean Shores - Pacific Coast, Washington, USA
- Prairies - Great Plains, USA
- Quietudes - Hoh Rainforest, Washington, USA
- Riparian Zones - Columbia River Basin, USA
- Tropical Forests - Amazon Basin, Brazil
- Tropical Forests - Borneo, Malaysia
- Tropical Forests - Costa Rica
- Tropical Forests - Congo Basin, Africa
- Upwellings - Yellowstone, Wyoming, USA
- Waves - Pacific Coast, Oregon, USA
- Wetlands - Pacific Northwest, USA
- Winds - Various locations, USA
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