The typical assumption is that Death Valley and its surroundings are hot and dry. That is often the case — not much rain falls there in a typical year, and it can be unbearably hot. But the climate in and around the park is a lot more varied than many realize. I’ve been snowed on there several times, and not just in the mountains. I even recall seeing a few flakes one early April at Scotty’s Castle! This photograph — on a day with rain and snow in the mountains — comes from the last week of winter.
I made the photograph in Panamint Valley, on the west side of the Panamint Mountains, the tallest range in the park. Those mountains were at my back as I looked to the west. The high clouds marked the receding edge of a weather system that was producing rain and snow on the higher peaks. The fascinating band of “high fog” was forming over the edge of the snow-capped Argus Range in the wake of the front’s passage.
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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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