What is the popular image of Death Valley National Park? I’d say that it is some combination of the following: desert, sand dunes, arid, empty. There can be some truth to that though it is not quite so uniform. This photograph is an example — it is not empty and there are no sand dunes. Instead we see flowers stretching off into the far distance.
There are more examples of landscapes like this in Death Valley National Park than there are of the supposedly “typical” desert sand dunes. We see a desert mountain range, tall enough to produce snow from sparse passing storms. Gigantic gravel erosion fans encircle the lower reaches of the mountains. And the foreground is carpeted with wildflowers, in this case desert gold.
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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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