The desert landscape of Death Valley National Park seems fairly static. Yes, we see dust storms blow things around a little, but even the shapes of the dunes remain fairly constant over time. The mountains and the playas look much as they did when I first saw them 25 years ago. But the reality is that this is a very dynamic landscape, and it is constantly being built up and torn down. This photograph is an obvious example of the latter process.

This light material was laid down millennia ago in the distant prehistoric past, long before people were here — and before there were even “people” at all. Over vast stretches of time the material was transformed — squashed, bent, tilted. Eventually a combination of uplift and erosion exposed it, and other processes kicked in. Here, those processes — including flowing water — have eroded and continue to erode the layers, producing this maze of small gullies and the fine silt seen at the bottom of the photo.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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