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  • A Datura flower blooms in the White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, near Big Pine, California, USA. The Datura genus is in the Potato (Solanaceae) Family, also known as the Deadly Nightshade Family. Its large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom March through November. Corollas are up to 6 inches long, have 5 teeth and are often tinged with purple or lavender around the edges. The flower opens after dusk then closes by mid-morning.
    1507CAL-1127_Datura-flower.jpg
  • Slot Canyon Trail. See fantastic hoodoos and a great slot canyon in Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, in New Mexico, USA. Hike the easy Cave Loop Trail plus Slot Canyon Trail side trip (3 miles round trip), 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe, on the Pajarito Plateau. Distinctive cone-shaped caprocks protect soft pumice and tuff beneath. Geologically, the Tent Rocks are made of Peralta Tuff, formed from volcanic ash, pumice, and pyroclastic debris deposited over 1000 feet thick from the Jemez Volcanic Field, 7 million years ago. Kasha-Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the Pueblo language Keresan. This panorama was stitched from 5 overlapping photos.
    1403NM-1081-85pan_Kasha-Katuwe_Tent-...jpg
  • Kin Kletso Great House was built around 1120-1130 AD (based on tree-ring dates) with 65 rooms and five kivas, but was abandoned by the 1150s AD. Chaco Culture National Historical Park hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chaco Canyon is in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, USA. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403NM-0354-356pan_Kin-Kletso_Chaco-...jpg
  • See Mount Baker (elevation 10,781 feet) from Skyline Divide trail in Mount Baker Wilderness, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, USA.
    1309BAK-077.jpg
  • Hikers on the Skyline Divide trail admire Mount Baker (elevation 10,781 feet) in Mount Baker Wilderness, in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, USA.
    1309BAK-075.jpg
  • The Mount Townsend trail passes by native rhododendrons which bloom with pink/magenta flowers in late June. Hike 8 miles round trip and 3000 feet in steady vertical gain to an alpine ridge on Mount Townsend Trail #839 in Buckhorn Wilderness, on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, USA. Contact Quilcene Ranger Station, Olympic National Forest.
    1306RHO-5070_rhododendrons_Mt-Townse...jpg
  • Brick filled window, Venice (Venezia), Italy, Europe. Venice (Venezia), founded in the 400s AD, is 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, between the mouths of the Po and Piave Rivers. 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. Venice and the Venetian Lagoon are honored on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
    13ITA-10012_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • Desert varnish streaks canyon walls along Lower Calf Creek Falls trail in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. Manganese-rich desert varnish requires thousands of years to coat a rock face that is protected from precipitation and wind erosion. The varnish likely originates from airborne dust and external surface runoff, including: clay minerals, oxides and hydroxides of manganese (Mn) and/or iron (Fe), sand grains, trace elements, and usually organic matter. Streaks of black varnish often occur where water cascades over cliffs, but wind doesn't sculpt its shape. Varnish color varies from shades of brown to black. Manganese-poor, iron-rich varnishes are red to orange, and intermediate concentrations are shaded brown. Manganese-oxidizing microbes may explain the unusually high concentration of manganese in black desert varnish, which can be smooth and shiny where densest. Hike Lower Calf Creek Falls trail 6 miles round trip (600 feet gain). Directions: From the town of Escalante, drive 15 miles east on Scenic Byway 12 to Calf Creek Recreation Area day-use parking and campground.
    1303UT-2261.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
  • Fireweed blooms pink magenta at Summit Lake (3210 feet elevation) beneath the snowy Alaska Range, along the Richardson Highway near Paxson, in Alaska, USA.
    06AK_3150_Summit-Lake_Alaska-Range.jpg
  • Lupine flowers bloom above beautiful Lake Quilotoa, Ecuador, South America. Quilotoa, a tourist site of growing popularity, is a scenic water-filled caldera that is the westernmost volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The 3 kilometers (2 mile) wide caldera (diameter about 9km) was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago, which produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that reached the Pacific Ocean, and spread an airborne deposit of volcanic ash throughout the northern Andes. The caldera has since accumulated a 250 meter (820 foot) deep crater lake, which has a greenish color from dissolved minerals. Fumaroles are found on the lake floor and hot springs occur on the eastern flank of the volcano. The route to the "summit" (the small town of Quilotoa) is generally traveled by hired truck or bus from the town of Zumbahua 17 km to the South. Lupinus is a genus in the pea family (also called the legume, bean, or pulse family, Latin name Fabaceae or Leguminosae). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping images.
    09ECU-2807-09pan_Quilotoa.jpg
  • Double Arch erodes from Entrada Sandstone in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. A thick underground salt bed underlies the creation of the park's many arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths. Some 300 million years ago, a sea flowed into the area and eventually evaporated to create the salt bed up to thousands of feet thick. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris eroded from the Uncompahgre Uplift to the northeast. During the Early Jurassic (about 210 million years ago) desert conditions deposited the vast Navajo Sandstone. On top of that, about 140 million years ago, the Entrada Sandstone was deposited from stream and windblown sediments. Later, over 5000 feet (1500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and then mostly worn away, leaving the park's arches eroded mostly within the Entrada formation.
    06UT_3072-Double_Arch.jpg
  • Lower Antelope Canyon (or "the Corkscrew") is a beautiful slot canyon in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. Flash floods and other erosion have carved Navajo Sandstone into this natural rock cathedral.
    11AZ1-2245_Lower-Antelope-Canyon.jpg
  • Flash floods have eroded a slot of Navajo sandstone into a natural cathedral at Upper Antelope Canyon, in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, Page, Arizona, USA. (The older spelling "Navaho" is no longer used by the Navajo, an American Indian group who call themselves Diné, or Dineh, "The People.")
    06AZ_4023-Upper_Antelope_Canyon.jpg
  • The Wave, Coyote Buttes, located on the Arizona side of Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, which is public land managed by the United States BLM. Over 190 million years, ancient sand dune layers calcified into rock and created "The Wave." Iron oxides bled through this Jurassic-age Navajo sandstone to create the salmon color. Hematite and goethite added yellows, oranges, browns and purples. Over thousands of years, water cut through the ridge above and exposed a channel that was further scoured by windblown sand into the smooth curves that today look like ocean swells and waves. For the permit required to hike to "The Wave", contact the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), who limits access to protect this fragile geologic formation. Image was published in 2009 for a surgeon's book on the intersection of science and faith. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    03AZ-05-25-The-Wave_Coyote-Buttes.jpg
  • Babcock State Park is located along the New River Gorge in Fayette County, West Virginia, USA. Located near the park headquarters, the Glade Creek Grist Mill is among the most photographed tourist sites in the state of West Virginia. The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a replica of the original Cooper's Mill that was located nearby. The current grist mill, completed in 1976, was assembled from parts of three other West Virginia mills. The Glade Creek Grist Mill as a living, working monument to the more than 500 mills formerly running throughout the state. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    08WV-1077-1080pan_Glade-Creek-Grist-...jpg
  • Toketee Falls (85+28 feet high in two steps), North Umpqua River, Douglas County, Oregon, USA. Columnar basalt frames the graceful falls in Umpqua National Forest. The Toketee Falls trailhead can be found 1/2 mile north of Highway 138 near Toketee Lake, 16 miles west of Diamond Lake, or 58 miles east of Roseburg.
    04UMP-0017-Toketee-Falls_N-Umpqua-Ri...jpg
  • The Mount Townsend trail visits native rhododendrons which bloom reddish pink in late June. Hike 8 miles round trip and 3000 feet in steady vertical gain to an alpine ridge on Mount Townsend Trail #839 in Buckhorn Wilderness, on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, USA. Contact the Quilcene Ranger Station, Olympic National Forest. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    0706TOW-203_rhododendrons.jpg
  • False Chanterelle Mushrooms (Clitocybe aurantiaca), Wenatchee National Forest. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04POL-0005-Orange_False_Chanterelle_...jpg
  • Alpine trees. Off Highway 88 near Carson Pass, hike a varied loop through lush wildflower fields from Woods Lake Campground to Winnnemucca Lake then Round Top Lake, in Mokelumne Wilderness, Eldorado National Forest, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The excellent loop trail is 5.3 miles with 1250 feet gain (or 6.4 miles with 2170 feet gain if adding the scramble up Round Top).
    1507CAL-1074.jpg
  • A weathered green door in Hualcayan village, in the Cordillera Blanca, Andes Mountains, Peru, South America. The photo is from our last day of 10 days trekking around Alpamayo in Huascaran National Park.
    14PER-2476_door_Hualcayan.jpg
  • Around 1450 AD, the Incas crafted impressive stone walls at the archaeological site of Tambomachay (El Baño del Inca), 8 km north of Cuzco, in Peru, South America. Tampumachay means "collective housing resting place" in Quechua language. The Incas perfected stonecraft to an amazing degree.
    03PER-01-16-Tambomachay-Wall.jpg
  • The orange sun sets in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. In 1959, Ecuador declared 97% of the land area of the Galápagos Islands to be Galápagos National Park, which UNESCO registered as a World Heritage Site in 1978. Ecuador created the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 1998, which UNESCO appended in 2001. Published in Martin Dawe Design company calendar 2013, UK. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-4345_Galapagos.jpg
  • A red, white and blue colored door in a house in the Khumbu District, in Himalaya of eastern Nepal.
    07NEP-5158.jpg
  • Baring Creek tumbles and falls over red sedimentary rocks in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks.
    07GLA-1103_Baring-Creek.jpg
  • Red and white sandstone erodes into fascinating shapes in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park also boasts fascinating patterns in limestone, shale, and conglomerate rock. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1382_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • A brown dog peers through a window in a white fence at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA. Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, one of the few towns directly traversed by the Appalachian Trail. The town contains both Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the populated Harpers Ferry Historic District (higher above the flood plain), at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where the US states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. Historically, Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859 and its role in the American Civil War.
    08WV-1184_dog-fence.jpg
  • Larch tree needles turn yellow in the first half of October on Blue Lake Trail #314, Okanagon National Forest, North Cascades Highway 20, Washington, USA. Liberty Bell Mountain (center left, 7790 feet), Early Winters Spires (center right, 7807 feet). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Panorama stitched from 8 overlapping images.
    0910BLU-194-201pan_Blue-Lake-2.jpg
  • Ephesus, Turkey: the Library of Celsus, built in 114 AD, was named in honor of a Roman .governor of Asia Minor (Anatolia). The nearby goddess sanctuary helped Ephesus become a prosperous port and cultural center by 600 BCE. At various times, Ephesus was controlled by Lydia (King Croesus), Persians, Hellenists (Ancient Greeks from Athens), Alexander the Great (334 BC), and eventually it became capital (population 250,000) of the Roman Province of Asia Minor. Published in the travel handbook "Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast" by Jessica Tamtürk, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2010. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. test
    99TUR-13-15_Ephesus-Library-of-Celsu...jpg
  • Petroglyphs of flute players in Shay Canyon on public BLM land, near Monticello, Utah, USA.
    1503SW-1341_Shay-Canyon-petroglyphs.jpg
  • Explore the cool honeycombed-sandstone slot of Crack Canyon in San Rafael Swell, near Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, USA. As part of the Colorado Plateau, the San Rafael Swell is a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone (160-175 million years old) that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 60-40 million years ago. Since then, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas, and buttes. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers American public lands.
    1503SW-0717_Crack-Canyon_pattern.jpg
  • The majestic Hickman Natural Bridge has a span of 133 feet. The hike is 1.8 miles round trip with 400 feet gain in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-0264-69pan_Hickman-Natural-Br...jpg
  • Corona Arch Trail is spectacular, on BLM federal land near Moab, Utah, USA. Hike 3 miles round trip up Bootlegger Canyon to the half-freestanding Corona Arch, also called Little Rainbow Bridge, which has an impressive opening of 140 feet wide by 105 feet high. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers American public lands. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403UT-286-88pan_Corona-Arch.jpg
  • Stone doorway. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0636_Pueblo-Bonito_Chaco-Cult...jpg
  • Eroded badlands of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, south of Farmington, in San Juan County, New Mexico, USA. This fantasy world of strange rock formations is made of interbedded sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt. These rock layers have weathered into eerie hoodoos (pinnacles, spires, and cap rocks). This was once a riverine delta west of an ancient sea, the Western Interior Seaway, which covered much of New Mexico 70 million years ago. Swamps built up organic material which became beds of lignite. Water disappeared and left behind a 1400-foot (430 m) layer of jumbled sandstone, mudstone, shale, and coal. The ancient sedimentary deposits were uplifted with the rest of the Colorado Plateau, starting about 25 million years ago. Waters of the last ice age eroded the hoodoos now visible. The high desert widerness of Bisti is managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403NM-0064-66pan_Bisti_De-Na-Zin-Wi...jpg
  • Sharp spires of the Geisler/Odle Group soar above green Alpe di Seceda, above St. Christina and Ortisei, in South Tyrol, the Dolomites, Italy, Europe. The beautiful ski resort of Selva di Val Gardena (German: Wolkenstein in Gröden; Ladin: Sëlva Gherdëine) makes a great hiking base in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (South Tyrol) region of Italy. For our favorite hike in the Dolomiti, start from Selva with the first morning bus to Ortisei, take the Seceda lift, admire great views up at the cross on the edge of Val di Funes (Villnöss), then walk 12 miles (2000 feet up, 5000 feet down) via the steep pass Furcela Forces De Sieles (Forcella Forces de Sielles) to beautiful Vallunga (trail #2 to 16), finishing where you started in Selva. The hike traverses the Geisler/Odle and Puez Groups from verdant pastures to alpine wonders, all preserved in a vast Nature Park: Parco Naturale Puez-Odle (German: Naturpark Puez-Geisler; Ladin: Parch Natural Pöz-Odles). UNESCO honored the Dolomites as a natural World Heritage Site in 2009.
    13ITA-20944_Alpe-di-Seceda_Dolomites.jpg
  • A hawkweed flower (Hieracium genus of sunflower) blooms in Alpe di Seceda, in the Geisler/Odle Group, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy, Europe. The beautiful ski resort of Selva di Val Gardena (German: Wolkenstein in Gröden; Ladin: Sëlva Gherdëine) makes a great hiking base in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (South Tyrol) region of Italy. For our favorite hike in the Dolomiti, start from Selva with the first morning bus to Ortisei, take the Seceda lift, admire great views up at the cross on the edge of Val di Funes (Villnöss), then walk 12 miles (2000 feet up, 5000 feet down) via the steep pass Furcela Forces De Sieles (Forcella Forces de Sielles) to beautiful Vallunga (trail #2 to 16), finishing where you started in Selva. The hike traverses the Puez-Geisler Group from verdant pastures to alpine wonders to U-shaped Vallunga valley, all preserved in a vast Nature Park: Parco Naturale Puez-Odle (German: Naturpark Puez-Geisler; Ladin: Parch Natural Pöz-Odles). UNESCO honored the Dolomites as a natural World Heritage Site in 2009.
    13ITA2-6228.jpg
  • Hike Lower Calf Creek Falls trail 6 miles round trip (600 feet gain), in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. The beautiful cascade drops 126 feet (38 meters) from sandstone cliffs stained with fascinating patterns of desert varnish. Directions: From the town of Escalante, drive 15 miles east on Scenic Byway 12 to Calf Creek Recreation Area day-use parking and campground. More about desert varnish: Manganese-rich desert varnish requires thousands of years to coat a rock face that is protected from precipitation and wind erosion. The varnish likely originates from airborne dust and external surface runoff, including: clay minerals, oxides and hydroxides of manganese (Mn) and/or iron (Fe), sand grains, trace elements, and usually organic matter. Streaks of black varnish often occur where water cascades over cliffs, but wind doesn't sculpt its shape. Varnish color varies from shades of brown to black. Manganese-poor, iron-rich varnishes are red to orange, and intermediate concentrations are shaded brown. Manganese-oxidizing microbes may explain the unusually high concentration of manganese in black desert varnish, which can be smooth and shiny where densest.
    1303UT-2215-p1.jpg
  • Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) rises to 20,310 feet elevation (6191 m) along Denali National Park Road near Eielson Visitor Center, Alaska, USA. Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, and measured from base to peak, it is earth's tallest mountain on land. Denali is only visible 1 out of 3 days. Rain falls as light showers or drizzle for half of summer days. The earliest shuttle bus doesn’t reach Denali views until mid morning. The least cloudy time is early morning, which suggests overnight tenting at Wonder Lake to best see the mountain. Denali is a granitic pluton uplifted by tectonic pressure while erosion has simultaneously stripped away the softer sedimentary rock above and around it. The native Athabaskan name "Denali" replaced "Mount McKinley" in 2015. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06AK_4069-Mt-McKinley-20320ft.jpg
  • A Galapagos Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis, subspecies: urinator) preens feathers at Suaraz Point, a wet landing location on Española (Hood) Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, South America. The Brown Pelican species lives strictly on coasts from Washington and Virginia south to northern Chile and the mouth of the Amazon River. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. Although large for a bird, the Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican. Adults are 106-137 cm (42-54 inches) in length, weigh from 2.75 to 5.5 kg (6-12 pounds), and have a wingspan from 1.83 to 2.5 m (6 to 8.2 feet). After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter. Their young are hatched in broods of about 3, and eat around 150 pounds of fish in the 8-10 month period they are cared for. The Brown Pelican bird differs from the American White Pelican by its brown body and its habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to cooperative fishing from the surface. It eats mainly herring-like fish. The nest location varies from a simple scrape on the ground on an island to a bulky stick nest in a low tree. Pelicans can live more than 30 years. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    09ECU-5125_Galapagos.jpg
  • Staubbach Falls (Staubbachfall) is the highest waterfall in Switzerland, plunging 1000 feet (300 meters) into Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland, the Alps, Europe. The Bernese Highlands are the upper part of Bern Canton. UNESCO lists “Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch” as a World Heritage Area (2001, 2007). Panorama stitched from three images. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    05ALP_0153-155pan-Lauterbrunnental.jpg
  • Tree fern silhouette pattern, Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand.
    07NZ_4233.jpg
  • Old weathered blue door in stone house at Clyde, South Island, New Zealand.
    07NZ_3218_door-weathered_Clyde.jpg
  • Lenticular clouds (lens or wave clouds) cap the peaks of Grand Teton (13,766 feet or 4198.6 meters) and Teewinot. The Teton Range reflects in the Snake River at Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA. Grand Teton National Park contains the major peaks of the 40-mile (64 km) Teton Range and part of the valley known as Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Teton Range began their tectonic uplift 9 million years ago (during the Miocene Epoch), making them the youngest range in the Rocky Mountains. A parkway connects from Grand Teton National Park 10 miles north to Yellowstone National Park. Published in the book "Mountain" by Sandy Hill, 2011, Rizzoli International Publications Inc (p. 103), a benefit for the American Alpine Club Library.
    04WY-0431.jpg
  • Machhapuchhre (or Machhapuchhare), the Fish Tail Mountain (22,943 feet / 6997 meters elevation) is a sacred peak, illegal to climb, in the Annapurna mountains (part of the Himalaya range), in Nepal. Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags fly from a monument at Annapurna South Base Camp (ABC, at 13,550 feet elevation) in the Annapurna Sanctuary. Published in Wilderness Travel Catalog of Adventures in 2023, in 2016, and as double page spread inside the cover of  2009, and in 2009 on the Swedish travel outfitter web site www.adventurelovers.se. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NEP-2497_Machhapuchhre-flags.jpg
  • Billion-year-old orange sedimentary rocks erode in complex patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    07GLA-0186.jpg
  • Lichen grows into polygons on sandstone polished by water, ice, and erosion in Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    11UT2-4006_Zion-NP-Utah.jpg
  • A seasonal waterfall plunges from Weeping Rock in Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    11UT1-2252_Zion-NP-Utah.jpg
  • Colorado River, seen from Lipan Point on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. Grand Canyon began forming at least 5 to 17 million years ago and now exposes a geologic wonder, a column of well-defined rock layers dating back nearly two billion years at the base. While the Colorado Plateau was uplifted by tectonic forces, the Colorado River and tributaries carved Grand Canyon over a mile deep (6000 feet / 1800 meters), 277 miles (446 km) long and up to 18 miles (29 km) wide.
    11AZ1-3123_Grand-Canyon-NP-Arizona.jpg
  • Lower Antelope Canyon (or "the Corkscrew") is a beautiful slot canyon in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. Flash floods and other erosion have carved Navajo Sandstone into this natural rock cathedral.
    11AZ1-2262_Lower-Antelope-Canyon.jpg
  • Lower Antelope Canyon (or "the Corkscrew") is a beautiful slot canyon in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. Flash floods and other erosion have carved Navajo Sandstone into this natural rock cathedral. (Panorama stitched from 2 photos.)
    11AZ1-2233-34pan_Lower-Antelope-Cany...jpg
  • Flash floods have eroded a slot of Navajo sandstone into a natural cathedral at Lower Antelope Canyon, in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. (The older spelling "Navaho" is no longer used by the Navajo, an American Indian group who call themselves Diné, or Dineh, "The People.")
    06AZ_4138-Lower_Antelope_Canyon.jpg
  • The sun sets over waves of the Pacific Ocean near winter solstice at Three Arch Rocks, Oceanside, Oregon, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06OR_262.jpg
  • The Bloedel Reserve was near its peak of fall colors on October 19, 2005. The Bloedel Reserve is a 150-acre forest garden on Bainbridge Island, Washington, made by the vice-chairman of a lumber company, under the influence of the conservation movement and oriental philosophy. The Bloedel Reserve has both natural and highly-landscaped lakes, immaculate lawns, woods, a traditional Japanese garden, a rock and sand Zen garden, a moss garden, a rhododendron glade, and a Reflection Garden. The Bloedel's French Chateau-style home is preserved as a Visitor Center, including many original furnishings. Reservations are required. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    05BLO_41_Japanese-Maple-fall-color.jpg
  • Stalactites hang from the cave ceiling. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc). The caverns are celebrated for performances of the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08VA-1022_Luray-Caverns_Virginia.jpg
  • The last wave of high tide left brown algae foam swirls resembling a Hokusai art work or fractal pattern on the beach sand at Seaside, on the Oregon coast, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08ORC-712.jpg
  • Yellow and white tulip flowers bloom in the Skagit River Delta, Washington, USA between the towns of Mount Vernon and La Conner.
    0804SKA-261.jpg
  • Exterior facade, glass window patttern. Seattle Public Library, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, finished in 2004. Address: 1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, Washington 98164, USA.
    04LIB-015-outside-tree-wall-pattern.jpg
  • The peak of El Capitan (9901 feet or 3018 m elevation) reflects in Alice Lake Creek in Sawtooth Wilderness, Blaine County, Idaho, USA. Grass swirls in patterns in the water. The Sawtooth Range (part of the Rocky Mountains) are made of pink granite of the 50 million year old Sawtooth batholith. Sawtooth Wilderness, managed by the US Forest Service within Sawtooth National Recreation Area, has some of the best air quality in the lower 48 states (says the US EPA). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07SAW-0475.jpg
  • Nelson River flows by lush fern rain forest in Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Tasmania, Australia. Published in Mountain Travel Sobek 2009 Catalog.
    04AUS-40007_Nelson-River-tree-ferns.jpg
  • A mother duck leads four cute ducklings in a row on the rippled turquoise waters of Lake Bled, Slovenia, Europe. The town of Bled and glacially formed Lake Bled (Slovene: Blejsko jezero) are popular tourist sites in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia. Lake Bled hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979, 1989, and 2011.
    11SLO-9180.jpg
  • Marmolada (Ladin: Marmoleda, German: Marmolata, 3343 meters / 10,968 feet elevation) is the highest mountain in the Dolomites, or Dolomiti, a part of the Southern Limestone Alps, in northern Italy, Europe. The view looks westwards from a trail west of Gasthaus Passo di Giau. The Dolomites are honored as a natural World Heritage Site (2009) by UNESCO.
    11ITA-2198.jpg
  • The Desert Primrose (or Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides) flower blooms white with yellow center, opening in the early evening and closing in mid-morning. Valley of Fire State Park, dedicated in 1935, is the oldest state park in Nevada. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park also boasts fascinating patterns in limestone, shale, and conglomerate rock. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV2-4027_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • The "Fire Wave" is a one mile round trip walk in the White Domes area of Valley of Fire State Park, the oldest state park in Nevada (dedicated in 1935). Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park also boasts fascinating patterns in limestone, shale, and conglomerate rock. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation. (Panorama stitched from 8 photos.)
    11NV1-1191-1198pan_Fire-Wave_Valley-...jpg
  • Lower Antelope Canyon (or "the Corkscrew") is a beautiful slot canyon in Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. Flash floods and other erosion have carved Navajo Sandstone into this natural rock cathedral.
    11AZ1-2240_Lower-Antelope-Canyon.jpg
  • Huckleberry bushes turn red in fall at Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. October 12, 2010
    1010RAI-275.jpg
  • A ranch gate frames the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho, USA. The Sawtooth Range (part of the Rocky Mountains) are made of pink granite of the 50 million year old Sawtooth batholith.
    07SAW-1161.jpg
  • Colorful blue and green boats on Phewa Lake (or Fewa Tal), in Pokhara, Nepal.
    07NEP-1535_boats_Phewa-Lake.jpg
  • Crepuscular rays of sunlight break through clouds near Marmolada (Ladin: Marmoleda, German: Marmolata, 3343 meters / 10,968 feet elevation), the highest mountain in the Dolomites, or Dolomiti, a part of the Southern Limestone Alps, in northern Italy, Europe. The view looks westwards from a trail west of Gasthaus Passo di Giau. The Dolomites are honored as a natural World Heritage Site (2009) by UNESCO.
    11ITA-2194.jpg
  • Sunrise light strikes Thor's Hammer and other orange and white hoodoos in Bryce National Park, Utah, USA. Bryce is actually not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The ancient river and lake bed sedimentary rocks erode into hoodoos by the force of wind, water, and ice.
    06UT_7012-Bryce-NP-Sunrise.jpg
  • Stalactites drip from the cave ceiling and deposit stalagmites on the floor, forming columns when they meet. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc).
    08VA-1060_Luray-Caverns_Virginia.jpg
  • Tides have shaped sea sand into scalloped abstract patterns at Seaside, on the Oregon coast, USA
    08ORC-701.jpg
  • The Tiger Lily or Columbia lily (Lilium columbianum) is native to western North America. Photo from Granite Mountain Trail, Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, Washington, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    0707GRA-19_Tiger-Lily.jpg
  • Snow Geese are typically seen in large flocks up to 55,000 in winter in western Washington, USA. Most gather in the Skagit River Delta (Skagit County) between the towns of Mount Vernon and La Conner (near Fir Island Road and Best Road) from mid-October to early May. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    0804SKA-126.jpg
  • Mount Rainier, Emmons Glacier, and the headwaters of the White River are seen from Glacier Overlook near Sunrise Camp, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. For vigorous training, hike the Burroughs Mountain 10 mile loop, 3200 feet ascent, from White River Campground up Glacier Basin Trail, back via Shadow Lake. Global warming and climate change: Mount Rainier’s glaciers shrank 22% by area and 25% by volume between 1913 and 1994 in conjunction with rising temperatures (Nylen 2004). As of 2009, monitored glaciers are continuing to retreat (NPS). Over the last century, most glaciers have been shrinking across western North America (Moore et al. 2009) and the globe (Lemke et al. 2007) in association with increasing temperatures. Published as a double page spread in Washington State Visitors Guide 2013, by Sagacity Media, Inc.
    1007RAI-184-192pan_Mt-Rainier.jpg
  • The White Avalanche Lily is a member of the lily family native to coastal British Columbia and the alpine and subalpine Olympic and Cascade Ranges of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its flower blooms as snow melts in late spring, in damp subalpine woodlands and alpine meadows, often in extensive patches. In the central Cascades, it often grows mixed with Clintonia uniflora and Trillium ovatum at the lower elevations of its range, and with Anemone occidentalis at higher elevations. Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA
    0907SPR-238-p1.jpg
  • Mobius Arch, in BLM Alabama Hills Recreation Area, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California, USA. The Alabama Hills are a popular filming location for television and movie productions (such as Gunga Din, Gladiator, Iron Man,  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), especially Westerns (Tom Mix films, Hopalong Cassidy films, The Gene Autry Show, The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, How the West Was Won, and Joe Kidd). Two main types of rock are exposed at Alabama Hills: 1) orange, drab weathered metamorphosed volcanic rock 150-200 million years old; and 2) 82- to 85-million-year-old biotite monzogranite which weathers to potato-shaped large boulders.
    1507CAL-1310_Mobius-Arch_Alabama-Hil...jpg
  • A Japanese maple turns orange in autumn. The Seattle Japanese Garden was completed in 1960 within UW's Washington Park Arboretum. Address: 1075 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA.
    1310ARB-110_fall-leaf-colors.jpg
  • Humpback Covered Bridge, built in 1857, is the oldest remaining covered bridge in the state of Virginia. Humpback Bridge is one of the few remaining covered bridges in the USA built higher in the middle than on either end (with a humpback 4 feet or 1.2 meters high). The bridge spans 109 feet (33 m) across Dunlap Creek (a tributary of Jackson River), near Covington, Virginia. Covered wooden bridges averaged ten times the lifespan of uncovered ones. Sometimes referred to as "kissing bridges" during the modest era of the late 1800s, covered bridges allowed horse and buggy passengers kissing privacy. Two former non-covered bridges here (built in the 1820s and 1838) were destroyed by floods, and a third bridge collapsed in 1856 due to heavy use and weathering. All three bridges were a part of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, a heavily traveled mountain road that connected the Shenandoah Valley with the Alleghany Mountains and westwards. The decking, unlike houses and other structures, could not be painted to prevent deterioration, as the traffic from horses and wagons would quickly remove any available paints of the era. The Humpback Covered Bridge was used from 1857 to 1929, when a steel truss bridge was built for US Highway 60 immediately to the north. The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. The bridge retains most of its original 1857 hand-hewn white oak and hickory support timbers and decking, but most of the walls and roofing have been replaced several times. The supports incorporate a unique curved multiple kingpost-truss system that is not found in any other surviving wooden bridge in the USA. The bridge is a unique design not duplicated anywhere else. How to reach Humpback Bridge: Take Exit number 10 off of Interstate 64 in Virginia and follow signs, 1 mile east. It is 3 miles west of Covington, Virginia adjacent to U.S. Highway 60 off Rumsey Road (SR 600).
    12VA-366.jpg
  • Blue paint weathers, fades, and exfoliates on an old door in Huaraz, Peru, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    00PER-37-27_blue-door-MASTER.jpg
  • Sgraffito (or scraffito, plural: sgraffiti) is a technique of wall decor where layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors are applied to a moistened surface. 17th century Guarda is one of the best preserved and characteristic villages of the Lower Engadine. Visit Guarda in Graubünden canton, Switzerland, the Alps, Europe. The Swiss valley of Engadine translates as the “garden of the En (or Inn) River” (Engadin in German, Engiadina in Romansh, Engadina in Italian).
    05ALP_4307-Guarda-architecture.jpg
  • Religious deities and symbols are carved in an ancient wood doorway in Patan's Durbar Square, Nepal, Asia. Patan was probably founded by King Veer Deva in 299 AD from a much older settlement. Patan, officially called Lalitpur, the oldest city in the Kathmandu Valley, is separated from Kathmandu and Bhaktapur by rivers. Patan (population 190,000 in 2006) is the fourth largest city of Nepal, after Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Pokhara. The Newar people, the earliest known natives of the Kathmandu Valley, call Patan by the name "Yala"  (from King Yalamber) in their Nepal Bhasa language. UNESCO honored Patan's Durbar Square (Palace Square) as one of the seven monument zones of Kathmandu Valley on their World Heritage List in 1979. All sites are protected under Nepal's Monuments Preservation Act of 1956.
    07NEP-5492.jpg
  • Sunset spotlights the Queen's Garden, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. The hoodoo on the left looks like a standing profile of Queen Elizabeth with gown. Bryce is actually not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The ancient river and lake bed sedimentary rocks erode into hoodoos by the force of wind, water, and ice. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06UT_6106-Bryce-NP-Sunset.jpg
  • Lower Antelope Canyon, Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park, near Page, Arizona, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. (The older spelling "Navaho" is no longer used by the Navajo, an American Indian group who call themselves Diné, or Dineh, "The People.")
    06AZ_5088-Lower_Antelope_Canyon.jpg
  • Sunset rays highlight a lone tree in the Blue Ridge Mountains along Skyline Drive, a National Scenic Byway which runs 105 miles (169 km) along the ridge of long and narrow Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia, USA. To the west is the broad Shenandoah Valley. The south end of Skyline Drive connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway that ends in North Carolina at the east entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (which spans into Tennessee). The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachians (see map). Trees release a haze of hydrocarbon gases which selectively backscatter blue light, the name source for the Blue Ridge Mountains. Shenandoah NP was authorized in 1926 and fully established on December 26, 1935. Almost 40% of its land has been designated as Wilderness, protected as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08VA-1140-42pan_Shenandoah-NP.jpg
  • Mecca Covered Bridge (150 feet long) was built in Burr Arch style over Big Raccoon Creek in 1873 by J.J. Daniels in historic Parke County, Indiana, USA. Golden sunset light beckons at the far opening. Puffy white clouds decorate the blue sky. The traditional "Cross this bridge at a walk" sign required slow vehicle speed, but traffic is now diverted to an adjacent modern bridge.
    10IND-154-p1.jpg
  • Cirrus clouds streak over Mount Goode (13,085 feet, left) and Hurd Peak (12,237 ft, right). My favorite hike in the Bishop Creek watershed goes from South Lake to Long Lake and Saddlerock Lake, looping back via a steeper, poorly marked route to Ruwau Lake, Chocolate Lakes, and Bull Lake, in John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The rewarding semi-loop is 9 miles with 2220 feet cumulative gain. An easier walk is 7.2 miles round trip with 1500 feet gain to Saddlerock Lake, out and back via beautiful Long Lake. This panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-1600-1601pan.jpg
  • Ancient trees have grown twisted into fascinating shapes in the harsh dry alpine climate at Schulman Grove, in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Inyo National Forest, in the White Mountains, near Big Pine, California, USA. The world's oldest known living non-clonal organism was found here in 2013 -- a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) 5064 years old, germinated in 3051 BC. It beat the previous record set by the famous nearby 4847-year-old Methuselah Tree sampled around 1957. Starting from the visitor center at 9846 feet, we hiked the Cabin Trail loop, returning along Methuselah Grove Trail (highly recommended, to visit the world's oldest living trees), with views eastward over Nevada's basin-and-range region. An important dendrochronology, based on these trees and dead bristlecone pine samples, extends back to about 9000 BC (with a single gap of about 500 years).
    1507CAL-1528.jpg
  • Mobius Arch frames Mount Whitney (14,505 feet or 4421 m elevation), the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada. The photogenic Alabama Hills are a BLM Recreation Area on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California, USA. The Alabama Hills are a popular filming location for television and movie productions (such as Gunga Din, Gladiator, Iron Man,  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), especially Westerns (Tom Mix films, Hopalong Cassidy films, The Gene Autry Show, The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, How the West Was Won, and Joe Kidd). Two main types of rock are exposed at Alabama Hills: 1) orange, drab weathered metamorphosed volcanic rock 150-200 million years old; and 2) 82- to 85-million-year-old biotite monzogranite which weathers to potato-shaped large boulders.
    1507CAL-1286_Mobius-Arch_Alabama-Hil...jpg
  • Desert varnish streaks Sipapu Bridge, in Natural Bridges National Monument, near Blanding, San Juan County, Utah, USA. White Canyon Creek has cut Sipapu Natural Bridge with a span of 225 feet (with a height of 144 feet, width of 41 feet, and thickness of 53 feet, says www.naturalarches.org) through a meander of white Permian sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation. Manganese-rich desert varnish requires thousands of years to coat a rock face protected from precipitation and wind erosion. The varnish likely originates from airborne dust and external surface runoff, including: clay minerals, oxides and hydroxides of manganese (Mn) and/or iron (Fe), sand grains, trace elements, and usually organic matter. Streaks of black varnish often occur where water cascades over cliffs protected from wind. Varnish color varies from shades of brown to black. Manganese-poor, iron-rich varnishes are red to orange, and intermediate concentrations are shaded brown. Manganese-oxidizing microbes may explain the unusually high concentration of manganese in black desert varnish, which can be smooth and shiny where densest. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-0954-57pan_Sipapu-Natural-Bri...jpg
  • Locked wood door, red wall, Santorini Island, Greece, Europe.
    01GRE-07-20.jpg
  • An orange and green leaf rests on polygons of orange and gray lichen in Denali State Park, Alaska, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06AK_5070-lichen-pattern-orange.jpg
  • A sea bird reflects in Tidal River at Wilson’s Promontory National Park in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Natural tannins leach from decomposing vegetation and turn the water brown. “The Prom” offers natural estuaries, cool fern gullies, magnificent and secluded beaches, striking rock formations, and abundant wildlife. Drive two hours from Melbourne to reach Wilson’s Promontory. Renting a camper van is a great way to see Australia with “no worries” about booking a bed. One night in the campground, our camper van rocked us awake in what we though was an earthquake. The rocking soon stopped and the dark shape of a wombat (a marsupial “bear”) wandered off into the night from underneath the van, where he had been licking our tasty sink drain! Around the campground, we were also delighted to see wallabies and the Common Brushtail Possum. Visitors also commonly see echidnas, koalas, bats and sugar-gliders. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-20006_Tidal-River_Wilsons-Prom...jpg
  • The granite monolith of El Capitan reflects in Merced River at Valley View. El Capitan rises 3000 feet (900 m) above Yosemite Valley floor to 7569 feet elevation in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. Rock climbers flock from around the world test themselves on the huge granitic face. 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, El Capitan and the entire 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-109-114pan_Yosemite-Valley.jpg
  • Dilapidated wood and iron siding ages at Bodie, California's official state gold rush ghost town. Bodie State Historic Park lies in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, near Bridgeport, California, USA. After W. S. Bodey's original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed "Bodie" from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.
    1507CAL-2694_Bodie-CA.jpg
  • Devils Kitchen rock formation, Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, USA. This desert land is high on the Colorado Plateau dotted with pinion and juniper forests. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-2173-75pan_Devils-Kitchen.jpg
  • Find fascinating Jurassic sandstone rock patterns in Wild Horse  Canyon on federal BLM land in the San Rafael Swell (160-175 million years old), Utah, USA. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers American public lands.
    1503SW-0738_Jurassic-sandstone-patte...jpg
  • Sunset light on orange rock near Devils Garden Campground, in Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah, USA. A thick underground salt bed underlies the creation of the park's many arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths. Some 300 million years ago, a sea flowed into the area and eventually evaporated to create the salt bed up to thousands of feet thick. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris eroded from the Uncompahgre Uplift to the northeast. During the Early Jurassic (about 210 million years ago) desert conditions deposited the vast Navajo Sandstone. On top of that, about 140 million years ago, the Entrada Sandstone was deposited from stream and windblown sediments. Later, over 5000 feet (1500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and then mostly worn away, leaving the park's arches eroded mostly within the Entrada formation.
    1403UT-145_Arches-NP_Utah.jpg
  • The impressive Fisher Towers are eroded from Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone, on BLM federal land near Moab, Utah, USA. Hike the Fisher Towers Trail 4.5 miles round trip with 800 feet gain. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers American public lands.
    1403UT-030_Fisher-Towers_Utah.jpg
  • Old buildings reflect in a canal. Venice (Venezia), founded in the 400s AD, is 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, between the mouths of the Po and Piave Rivers. 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. Venice and the Venetian Lagoon are honored on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
    13ITA-10463_Venice-Italy.jpg
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