Tag Archives: wildflowers

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range

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Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range
Spring wildflowers in bloom at the base of the Temblor Range

Spring Wildflowers, Temblor Range. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers in bloom at the base of the Temblor Range.

Let’s start with the “Temblor Range.” (First a confession: I’ve always thought that the word referring to earthquakes should be “tremblor,” not temblor. Don’t judge me!) The area of the Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of those locations where the monumental nature of the San Andreas earthquake fault, arguably the most consequential bit of geology in the state, lies out in the open where it is easy to see. The Temblor Range runs from northwest to southeast along the edge of the plain, and its base marks the precise location of the fault. Visitors can easily observe some very powerful evidence of fault movement where creeks have been offset to the north over many thousands of years. From what I read, the geological record shows a leap of over 20 feet in the 1800s and a prior movement of well over 40 feet!

Earthquake faults aside, during the spring this can be the site of truly stupendous wildflower displays. The area is normally very dry and very hot. Most summer or early fall visitors would be struck by how empty and arid the place looks — little vegetation, most of it appearing to be dead, evaporated lake beds, and lots of dust. But when the winter rains are exceptional – as there were during the middle and latter parts of this season — there can be an explosion of wildflowers. This year’s display is quite impressive, though it may not quite equal the “super bloom” of a couple of years ago. The wildflowers were my main reason for going this time, so I headed over towards this likely spot late in the day. Clouds blocked the light an hour or so before sunset, but I thought there might be a bit of light at the last minute when the sun dropped below the cloud’s lower edge before setting. It turned out that this happened… and I had all of about two minutes of soft, warm-colored light.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Southern California

Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain

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Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain
Two abandoned water tanks at Carrizo Plain National Monument in spring

Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two abandoned water tanks at Carrizo Plain National Monument in spring.

These old and apparently abandoned water tanks sit over a small seasonal stream a good distance up above the floor of the Carrizo Plain. You would think that the purpose of the tanks would be obvious, but I’m not so sure. I did a bit of (less-than-diligent) research to try to discover their purpose, but what little I came up with seemed to have less of the character of being based on primary sources and more than of something reportedly heard by someone who was told something by someone who thought they remembered that… You get the picture. I can think of two possibilities. As some sources report, they could have been built to ensure a year-round water supply for cattle operations. It also seems possible that they could have been connected to resource extraction operations, such as those at Soda Lake.

The presence of the tanks is a reminder that this landscape (like most landscapes, to be honest) has a strong human element — it isn’t exactly wilderness! When people visit the Carrizo today they most likely come to see the natural phenomenon of the springtime wildflowers. But the place has been shaped by oil exploration and (nearby) extraction, cattle ranching, “mining” of various sorts, and more. All of that aside, the backdrop for these remnant structures, especially on a spring day when rain showers alternated with sunshine, is an immense and spectacular landscape.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks

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Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks
Wildflowers carpet a meadow leading to John Muir Wilderness peaks

Wildflowers, Meadow, Peaks. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildflowers carpet a meadow leading to John Muir Wilderness peaks

I made this photograph just steps from where we were camped for a week during a prior (and much wetter!) summer. If you were at this location at the end of July in a more typical year you would likely see a lot of brown beginning to appear in the meadow. But this had been a year of record-breaking winter precipitation, and everything was still green.

There were also wildflowers everywhere. (Mosquitos, too, of course — the two go hand in hand in the high country!) This is something of an unusual composition for me, with a wide-angle lens placing the very close flowers in the same frame with the very distant alpine ridge standing in bright morning light against a perfect blue sky.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Springtime Hills

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Springtime Hills
Spring wildflowers, hills, and the Carrizo Plain

Springtime Hills. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers, hills, and the Carrizo Plain

In the spring following a wet winter, you can often find excellent wildflower displays all over the state of California — from the deserts to the Sierra foothills and just about anywhere else with some suitable land. I photographed these in hills of south-central California that lie between the Great Central Valley and the valleys that run just inland of the coast ranges.

It had been an excellent year for rainfall here — after five years of crushing drought California had a single winter of record-setting precipitation. The plants took advantage of this, and in many places managed to produce extensive wildflower displays. A few of us hiked up into these hills, and photographed back toward the valley below and the setting sun.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.