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  • Cathedral Peak reflects in Cathedral Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA. Cathedral Peak is the highest summit of the Cathedral Range, an offshoot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain in south-central Yosemite National Park in Tuolumne County. The sharp cathedral-shaped top of the peak was left uneroded as Pleistocene glaciers scraped its flanks smooth. The west peak (left side) of Cathedral Peak is called Eichorn Pinnacle, after Jules Eichorn, who first ascended a route (difficulty = YDS 5.4 ) in 1931. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    96CAL-06-05_Cathedral-Peak-Lake-Yose...jpg
  • A popular observation tower on Clingman's Dome gives a panoramic view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee and North Carolina, in southeastern USA. Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet or 2,025 meters elevation) is the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, the highest in Tennessee, the highest along the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail, and the third-highest mountain in the Appalachian range. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The summit is coated by a Spruce-fir (or "boreal") forest, common in northern latitudes, but found only in the highest elevations in the southeastern United States. Clingmans Dome, like most of the Great Smokies, consists of a type of lightly metamorphosed sedimentary rock (especially sandstone) that is part of the Ocoee Supergroup formation, created from ancient ocean sediments nearly one billion years ago. The Smoky Mountains are among the oldest in the world, lifted approximately 200-300 million years ago in the Alleghenian orogeny.
    08TN-2033-p5_Clingmans-Dome.jpg
  • A spiral ramp leads to a popular observation tower on Clingman's Dome, with a panoramic view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee and North Carolina, in southeastern USA. Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet or 2,025 meters elevation) is the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, the highest in Tennessee, the highest along the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail, and the third-highest mountain in the Appalachian range. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The summit is coated by a Spruce-fir (or "boreal") forest, common in northern latitudes, but found only in the highest elevations in the southeastern United States. Clingmans Dome, like most of the Great Smokies, consists of a type of lightly metamorphosed sedimentary rock (especially sandstone) that is part of the Ocoee Supergroup formation, created from ancient ocean sediments nearly one billion years ago. The Smoky Mountains are among the oldest in the world, lifted approximately 200-300 million years ago in the Alleghenian orogeny. Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    08TN-2029-2034_Clingmans-Dome.jpg
  • A popular observation tower on Clingman's Dome gives a panoramic view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee and North Carolina, in southeastern USA. Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet or 2,025 meters elevation) is the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, the highest in Tennessee, the highest along the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail, and the third-highest mountain in the Appalachian range. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The summit is coated by a Spruce-fir (or "boreal") forest, common in northern latitudes, but found only in the highest elevations in the southeastern United States. Clingmans Dome, like most of the Great Smokies, consists of a type of lightly metamorphosed sedimentary rock (especially sandstone) that is part of the Ocoee Supergroup formation, created from ancient ocean sediments nearly one billion years ago. The Smoky Mountains are among the oldest in the world, lifted approximately 200-300 million years ago in the Alleghenian orogeny.
    08TN-2004_Clingmans-Dome.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-394_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) rises above Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-345_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) reflects in Mirror Lake, Tenaya Creek, Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CALC-101_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-377_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) reflects in Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-355-362pan_Half-Dome.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-232-234pan_Half-Dome.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-176_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-005_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • Forest fire on Downey Creek, seen from Green Mountain hike. Dome Peak rises above. Trail head is on the Mountain Loop Highway, Washington, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04GRE-0015-Forest-fire_Dome-Peak.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) reflects in Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1111CALC-104-109pan_Half-Dome_Yosemi...jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-397_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-303_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-302_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-256_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-229-231pan_Half-Dome.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-178_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • The granite monolith of Half Dome (8836 feet or 2693 meters elevation) is a famous symbol of Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The peak rises 4737 ft (1444 m) above the valley floor. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite.
    1111CAL-320_Half-Dome_Yosemite.jpg
  • From Sentinel Dome, see twisted alpine trees, North Dome and Basket Dome in Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite National Park.
    1111CAL-124.jpg
  • A popular observation tower on Clingman's Dome gives a panoramic view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Tennessee and North Carolina, in southeastern USA. Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet or 2,025 meters elevation) is the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, the highest in Tennessee, the highest along the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail, and the third-highest mountain in the Appalachian range. A paved road connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road). The summit is coated by a Spruce-fir (or "boreal") forest, common in northern latitudes, but found only in the highest elevations in the southeastern United States. Clingmans Dome, like most of the Great Smokies, consists of a type of lightly metamorphosed sedimentary rock (especially sandstone) that is part of the Ocoee Supergroup formation, created from ancient ocean sediments nearly one billion years ago. The Smoky Mountains are among the oldest in the world, lifted approximately 200-300 million years ago in the Alleghenian orogeny.
    08TN-2006_Great-Smoky-Mountains.jpg
  • Hike the scenic Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 15 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2829-43pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • See Mount Shasta from the trail to Castle Dome in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2900.jpg
  • See Mount Shasta from Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2811_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Hike the spectacular Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 10 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2819-28pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-131_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • The granite dome of Liberty Cap rises 1700 feet (520 m) from the base of Nevada Fall to 7076 feet (2157 m) elevation along on the John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. To the left is the south side of Half Dome. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-555-557pan_Liberty-Cap_Nevad...jpg
  • The granite dome of Liberty Cap rises 1700 feet (520 m) from the base of Nevada Fall to 7076 feet (2157 m) elevation along on the John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. To the left is the south side of Half Dome. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. 100 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada crystallized into granite from magma 5 miles underground. The range started uplifting 4 million years ago, and glaciers eroded the landscape seen today in Yosemite. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-540-541pan_Liberty-Cap_Nevad...jpg
  • Dome du Gouter (Dôme du Goûter 14,121 feet or 4304 meters) is a shoulder of massive Mont Blanc (out of sight to left at 15,782 feet). Take the spectacular Aiguille du Midi téléphérique (world’s highest vertical ascent cable car) from Chamonix (3300 feet elevation) to Aiguille du Midi (12,600 feet) in France, Europe.
    05ALP_2103-Aiguille-du-Midi_Mont-Bla...jpg
  • Ancient twisted wood dries on Sentinel Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, USA.
    1111CAL-133.jpg
  • Dome Peak (8960 feet elevation), seen from Pacific Crest Trail from Cutthroat Pass, Okanagon National Forest, Washington, USA.
    0907-083.jpg
  • View of Sammish Island and the San Juan Islands from Oyster Dome, in Blanchard State Forest, Washington, USA. Multiple overlapping photos were stitched to make this panorama.
    2106BLA-15-16-Pano.jpg
  • Reid Glacier on Plunket Dome (2191m) is seen from the tongue of Dart Glacier, during a 20 kilometer side trip from Dart Hut to spectacular Cascade Saddle, Rees-Dart Track, in Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago region, South Island of New Zealand.
    1901NZ2-0580.jpg
  • Reid Glacier on Plunket Dome (2191m) and Cascade Saddle reflect in a pond during a 20 kilometer side trip to Cascade Saddle from Dart Hut, Rees-Dart Track, in Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago region, South Island of New Zealand.
    1901NZ2-0568.jpg
  • Reid Glacier on Plunket Dome (2191m) is seen from near the tongue of Dart Glacier, during a 20 kilometer side trip from Dart Hut to spectacular Cascade Saddle, Rees-Dart Track, in Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago region, South Island of New Zealand.
    1901NZ2-0566.jpg
  • Upheaval Dome. Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, Moab, USA.
    1804SW-0562.jpg
  • Upheaval Dome. Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, Moab, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1804SW-0556-561-Pano.jpg
  • The Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is also known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin. Inside the Dolphin Pavilion, enter the 30-foot-diameter underwater viewing dome in the center of the main performance pool, wheelchair-accessible. Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
    1409IN-039_zoo.jpg
  • The Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is also known as the Common Bottlenose Dolphin. Inside the Dolphin Pavilion, see dolphins from the intimate underwater viewing dome in the center of the main performance pool. Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
    1409IN-046_zoo.jpg
  • Green plants cover the roof of the Geodesic Dome lodging in the forest canopy at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, less than 2 hours drive from Quito, Ecuador, South America.
    09EQUCIMG_2913_Bellavista-Ecuador.jpg
  • At Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, the Dome has dormitory lodging options in the forest canopy, near Quito, Ecuador, South America. Also stay in comfortable private rooms. Web site: bellavistacloudforest.com.  Panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    09ECU-1620-23pan_Bellavista-Cloud-Fo...jpg
  • A panorama from Hidden Lake Peaks Lookout includes El Dorado Peak, Hidden Lake, Boston Peak, Mount Forbidden, Dome Peak, Glacier Peak, & Mt. Baker. North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, USA.
    02HID-01-17pan_Hidden-Lake-Peak-Casc...jpg
  • See Reid Glacier on Plunket Dome (2191m) from Cascade Saddle in Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago region, South Island of New Zealand. Cascade Saddle is a spectacular 20-kilometer side trip from Dart Hut on the Rees-Dart Track.
    1901NZ2-0755.jpg
  • Upheaval Dome. Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, Moab, USA.
    1804SW-0590.jpg
  • Bloedel Conservatory is a domed lush paradise where you can experience the colors and scents of the tropics year-round, within Queen Elizabeth Park, atop the City of Vancouver’s highest point. Bloedel Conservatory, Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Address: 4600 Cambie St. From Little Mountain (501 feet), see panoramic views over the city crowned by the mountains of the North Shore. A former rock quarry has been converted into beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park with flower gardens, public art, grassy knolls. In Bloedel Conservatory, more than 200 free-flying exotic birds, 500 exotic plants and flowers thrive within a temperature-controlled environment. A donation from Prentice Bloedel built the domed structure, which was dedicated in 1969 "to a better appreciation and understanding of the world of plants," and is jointly operated by Vancouver Park Board and VanDusen Botanical Garden Association.
    1402VAN-133.jpg
  • Aya Sofya Museum in İstanbul, Turkey. In Greek, it's called Hagia Sofia, or Sancta Sophia in Latin, which means "Divine Wisdom." The minarets were constructed after the Islamic conquest of 1453. Emperor Justinian built the Hagia Sofia from 532 to 537 AD in Constantinople on the site of a former Hagia Sofia on the acropolis of the former Byzantium. The 102-foot diameter dome perches an amazing 180 feet above the floor (rivalling the scale of the 144-foot high and wide concrete dome of Rome's Pantheon, built earlier from 118-125 AD). An earthquake collapsed the dome after only 22 years, and it was rebuilt several times by later Byzantine emperors and Ottoman sultans. 30 million gold mosaic tiles covered the dome's interior in Byzantine times. Hagia Sofia reigned as the greatest church in Christendom for nearly 1000 years, until the Islamic conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453. A church with a larger dome, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, was not built until 1506. Hagia Sofia served as a mosque from 1453 to 1935, after which Atatürk, the father of the modern Republic of Turkey, declared it a museum. İstanbul's Hagia Sofia still stands as one of the architectural marvels of the world.
    99TUR-03-01_Hagia-Sofia-Museum-Istan...jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2899.jpg
  • A family dune boards at White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritag
    1404NM-6073_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Wet gypsum sand cakes together. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
    1404NM-6038_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Dune pattern. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
    1404NM-6028_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • People dune board at White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage S
    1404NM-6033_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Wet gypsum sand cakes together. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
    1403SWC-303_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above krumholtz trees atop Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 13 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2869-81pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above krumholtz trees atop Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2888_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Granite spires soar above Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2864_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1404NM-6057-60pan_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1404NM-6063-68pan_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
    1404NM-6048_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • The Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) can grow up to a foot a year to keep above shifting dunes. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heri
    1404NM-6025_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
    1404NM-6003_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2008. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1404NM-6013-15pan_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Dunes can bury plants in White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Herita
    1404NM-6093_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • The Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) can grow up to a foot a year to keep above shifting dunes. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heri
    1404NM-6099_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • The Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) can grow up to a foot a year to keep above shifting dunes. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heri
    1404NM-6075_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • The Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) can grow up to a foot a year to keep above shifting dunes. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heri
    1404NM-6079_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • The Soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) can grow up to a foot a year to keep above shifting dunes. White Sands National Monument preserves one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here in the northern Chihuahuan Desert rises the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Visit the park 16 miles southwest of Alamogordo, NM, USA. White Sands National Monument preserves 40% of the gpysum dune field, the remainder of which is on White Sands Missile Range and military land closed to the public. Geology: The park’s gypsum was originally deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area 250 million years ago. Eventually turned into stone, these gypsum-bearing marine deposits were uplifted into a giant dome 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed. Beginning 10 million years ago, the center of this dome began to collapse and create the Tularosa Basin. The remaining sides of the original dome now form the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges that ring the basin. The common mineral gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because rain dissolves it in runoff which usually drains to the sea; but mountains enclose the Tularosa Basin and trap surface runoff. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) comes from ephemeral Lake Lucero (a playa), which is the remnant of ice-age Lake Otero (now mostly an alkali flat) in the western side of the park. Evaporating water (up to 80 inches per year) leaves behind selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m)! Weathering breaks the selenite crystals into sand-size gypsum grains that are carried away by prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved white coloration that camouflages them in the dazzling white desert; and various plants have specially adapted to shifting sands. Based on an application by two US Senators from New Mexico, UNESCO honored the monument on the Tentative List of World Heri
    1404NM-6083_White-Sands-NM.jpg
  • Hikers explore atop Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-125_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Hikers ascend Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 5 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-211-215pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-175_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-132-134pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Hikers explore atop a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-154_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-112-117pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-079-80pan_Enchanted-Rock_Texa...jpg
  • Atop Enchanted Rock, looking towards Little Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-191-203pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Climbers practice at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Fredericksburg, Texas, USA. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-231_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • A family with children explores boulders atop Enchanted Rock. Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-180_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-174_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-168_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Cactus and grass grow in a bowl atop Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-159-160pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.  The panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-066-68pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting. The panorama was stitched from 8 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-079-86pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.
    1410NY-087_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.  The panorama was stitched from 9 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-044-52pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.
    1410NY-065_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.  The panorama was stitched from 11 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-089-99pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting. The panorama was stitched from 9 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-105-113pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting. The panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1410NY-100-102pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting. The panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    14NEC-028-33pan_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Heart Lake, Adirondacks. Hike Mount Jo in the Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid, North Elba, New York, USA. Beautiful Heart Lake and Adirondak Loj (an historic lodge) lie at the foot of Mount Jo (2876 ft or 877 m elev), which is on land owned by the Adirondack Mountain Club (AMC). With a sweeping vista of the Great Range, Mt Jo offers one of the best views for the effort in the Adirondacks: ascend 710 feet or 216 m from the Loj in 2.6 miles roundtrip. From atop Mt. Jo, see the surrounding High Peaks Wilderness Area, a state Forest Preserve protected within Adirondack Park. Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous USA and is the largest National Historic Landmark. Geologic history: The Adirondacks are very new mountains from old rocks, uplifting in a circular dome (160 miles wide and 1 mile high) over just the past 5 million years. Geologically, the Adirondacks are NOT in the Appalachians: instead, they are part of the Canadian Shield (or Laurentian or Precambrian Shield which underlies half of Canada). The Adirondacks are still rising fast, up to 3 mm per year, with a central core (High Peaks region) of intrusive igneous rock, Anorthosite (not common at Earth's surface but common on the Moon's surface), surrounded by a massive dome of 1-billion-year-old metamorphic gneiss rock, in turn surrounded by some younger sedimentary rocks. In contrast, the unrelated Appalachians have mostly younger sedimentary rocks, yet are among the world's oldest mountains and are no longer uplifting.
    1410NY-088_Adirondacks.jpg
  • Bell towers and blue-domed Greek Orthodox Churches grace the village of Oia on Santorini Island, an ancient volcanic caldera rim in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, Europe. A cat basks in sunshine near woven rugs, one with an urn design. After major destruction in a 1956 earthquate, Oia town was rebuilt as a multi level maze of fascinating whitewashed architecture.
    01GRE-07-04_Woven-rugs-cat-church.jpg
  • Bell towers and blue-domed Greek Orthodox Churches grace the village of Oia on Santorini Island, an ancient volcanic caldera rim in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, Europe. Woven rugs bask in sunshine. Geologic and human history of Santorini: Humans first arrived around 3000 BC on this volcano known in ancient times as Thira (or Thera). The island was a volcanic cone with a circular shoreline until 1646 BC, when one of earths most violent explosions blasted ash all over the Mediterranean, sunk the center of the island, launched tidal waves, and may have ruined the Minoan civilization 70 miles away on Crete. Remarkably, volcanic ash dumped onto the volcanos flanks actually preserved the village of Akrotiri and its 3600-year-old frescoes from the Minoan era. These are some of the earliest known examples of world art history, which you can now view in museums. In 286 BC, the volcano split off Thirasia (Little Thira) Island (to the West). The volcano began rebuilding, and in 197 BC the small center islet of Palia Kameni appeared. In 1707 CE, lava started forming Nea Kameni, the larger center island which erupted as recently as 1956 and caused a huge earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) which destroyed most of the houses in the towns of Fira and Oia. Fira and Oia have since been rebuilt as multi-level mazes of fascinating whitewashed architecture, attracting tourists from around the world.
    01GRE-06-32_Oia-churches-rugs.jpg
  • From a blue-domed Greek Orthodox Church in Oia village, view southeast across the ocean filled caldera to Imerovigli and Fira on Santorini Island, Greece, Europe. Geologic and human history of Santorini: Humans first arrived around 3000 BC on this volcano known in ancient times as Thira (or Thera). The island was a volcanic cone with a circular shoreline until 1646 BC, when one of earths most violent explosions blasted ash all over the Mediterranean, sunk the center of the island, launched tidal waves, and may have ruined the Minoan civilization 70 miles away on Crete. Remarkably, volcanic ash dumped onto the volcanos flanks actually preserved the village of Akrotiri and its 3600-year-old frescoes from the Minoan era. These are some of the earliest known examples of world art history, which you can now view in museums. In 286 BC, the volcano split off Thirasia (Little Thira) Island (to the West). The volcano began rebuilding, and in 197 BC the small center islet of Palia Kameni appeared. In 1707 CE, lava started forming Nea Kameni, the larger center island which erupted as recently as 1956 and caused a huge earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) which destroyed most of the houses in the towns of Fira and Oia. Fira and Oia have since been rebuilt as multi-level mazes of fascinating whitewashed architecture, attracting tourists from around the world.
    01GRE-04-30_PRINT-Oia.jpg
  • Bell towers and blue-domed Greek Orthodox Churches grace the village of Oia on Santorini Island, an ancient volcanic caldera rim in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, Europe. After major destruction in a 1956 earthquate, Oia town was rebuilt as a multi level maze of fascinating whitewashed architecture. Published in PC Photo Magazine June 2002. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    01GRE-05-31_Belltower-Oia.jpg
  • Dôme du Goûter (center 14,121 feet or 4304 meters) is a shoulder of massive Mont Blanc (15,782 feet elevation) covered with massive glaciers such as Glacier des Bossons, seen from Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France, Europe..  Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping images. One of 17 photos published in Ryder-Walker Alpine Adventures "Inn to Inn Alpine Hiking Adventures" Catalog 2006.
    05ALP_2148-49pan_Glacier-des-Bossons.jpg
  • Dôme du Goûter (center 14,121 feet or 4304 meters) is a shoulder of massive Mont Blanc (in clouds on left at 15,782 feet elevation). Massive glaciers fill the view from Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France, Europe..  Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping images. One of 17 photos published in Ryder-Walker Alpine Adventures "Inn to Inn Alpine Hiking Adventures" Catalog 2006.
    05ALP_2128-30pan-Mont-Blanc.jpg
  • Dôme du Goûter (center 14,121 feet or 4304 meters) is a shoulder of massive Mont Blanc (in clouds on left at 15,782 feet elevation). Massive glaciers fill the view from Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, France, Europe.
    05ALP_2110-Mont-Blanc.jpg
  • Bell towers and blue-domed Greek Orthodox Churches grace the village of Oia on Santorini Island, an ancient volcanic caldera rim in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, Europe. After major destruction in a 1956 earthquate, Oia town was rebuilt as a multi level maze of fascinating whitewashed architecture.
    01GRE-14-15_Oia-house-church-maze.jpg
  • Madonna dell'Orto church was erected by the now-defunct Humiliati religious order in the mid 1300s in the sestiere of Cannaregio, Venice, in Italy, Europe. The brickwork bell tower was finished in 1503 with an onion dome in Eastern style, topped by a white marble statue of the Redeemer. The photo is taken from a hotel room in Antica Raffineria (www.anticaraffineria.it). Venice (Venezia) is the capital of Italy's Veneto region, named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. The romantic "City of Canals" stretches across 100+ small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.
    13ITA-10077_Venice-Italy.jpg
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