Desert Mountain, Sand Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A sand storm rises above desert and hills and mountains.
Our run-in with a Death Valley sand storm this past April was very impressive — as these events always are. They are not pleasant. In fact, they can be very unpleasant. I’ve had automobile windows damaged by the blowing sand, and I’ve suffered through more than one of these events in a tent. But in the right light and in the right locations, they can produce a sort of “terrible beauty.”
On this afternoon and evening strong southwest winds were blowing sand and dust from dunes and playa up into the desert mountains to the northeast. While the strongest of these events can raise dust over the tops of the peaks, these winds were enough to send dust up their slopes but they left the summits open to the light. Near sunset the light from the west began to penetrate the gloom a bit, both lighting the low desert hills in the foreground and producing a sort of glow on the high peak towering beyond.
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 and Amazon.
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