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  • Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. Directions to unmarked trailhead for Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons: From Escalante town, drive 6 miles east on Highway 12, turn right on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, drive 7.8 miles to the third cattle guard and park on west side of road. Hike east on well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip to Zebra Slot, plus an optional 3 miles round trip to Tunnel Slot (750 feet gain over 8 miles), using map from GSENM Visitor Center or canyoneeringusa.com. The image was stitched from 2 overlapping photos to increase depth of focus.
    1303UT-2032-2033stit_Zebra-Slot_Gran...jpg
  • Afternoon sun hits Mount Rainier (14,411 feet elevation) and lupine flowers on Sunrise Ridge, in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Lupinus is a genus in the pea family (also called the legume, bean, or pulse family, Latin name Fabaceae or Leguminosae). Published since 2013 on StayRainier.com and AltaCrystalResort.com web sites; and on 2015 Alta Crystal Resort Summer Brochure. Published in National Parks Traveler digital magazine hard copy, digital, & web, NationalParksTraveler.com. 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.
    0607BER_0234-Rainier-Lupine.jpg
  • Ruby Beach: Abbey Island, sea stacks, surf, driftwood, coastal forest, Cedar Creek, in Olympic National Park, Washington, USA. Panorama stitched from 2 images.
    0911OLY-071-72pan_Ruby-Beach.jpg
  • The moon sets at sunrise over Annapurna South, seen from Annapurna South Base Camp (ABC, at 13,550 feet elevation), in the Himalaya mountain range of Nepal. Annapurna South (also known as Annapurna Dakshin, or Moditse; 23,684 feet / 7219 meters) was first climbed in 1964 by a Japanese expedition. Annapurna is Sanskrit for “Goddess of the Harvests.” In Hinduism, Annapurna is a goddess of fertility and agriculture and an avatar of Durga.
    07NEP-2545.jpg
  • Sagarmatha National Park: This is the north side of Ama Dablam, a beautiful mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal, in the Khumbu District. This was photographed between Dingboche and Chhukhung, in the Imja Khola river valley. Ama Dablam was first climbed in 1961. The main peak is 22,349 feet (or 6,812 meters) tall, and the lower western peak is 18,251 feet (or 5,563 meters). Ama Dablam means "Mother and Pearl Necklace" (the pearl being the perennial hanging glacier).
    07NEP-3533_Ama-Dablam.jpg
  • Machhapuchhre (or Machhapuchhare), the Fish Tail Mountain (22,943 feet / 6997 meters elevation) a sacred peak, illegal to climb, in the Annapurna Range of Nepal, in the Himalaya mountains. This view is from Annapurna South Base Camp (ABC, at 13,550 feet elevation) in the Annapurna Sanctuary.
    07NEP-2502_Machhapuchhre_Fish-Tail-M...jpg
  • The Lauterbrunnen Breithorn (elevation 3780 meters / 12,402 feet) is a mountain at the western end of the Lauterbrunnen Wall and Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Bernese Alps (Berner Oberland) of Switzerland.  To the lower right is Staubbach Falls (1,000 foot drop), highest waterfall in Switzerland.
    05ALP_0173-Lauterbrunnental+Breithor...jpg
  • Venice (Venezia) is the capital of Italy’s Veneto region, named for the ancient Veneti people from the 10th century BC. The romantic "City of Canals" stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po (south) and Piave (north) 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 13th through 17th centuries. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles. Composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was born in Venice.
    11ITA-1150_Venice-canal.jpg
  • Orange sunrise light spotlights clouds over Kananaskis Country, Canadian Rockies, Alberta. Access the Mt Kidd Interpretive Trail from Mt Kidd RV Park. Kananaskis Country is a park system west of Calgary.
    1509CAN-3233_orange-sunrise-trees.jpg
  • Desert Primrose (or Dune Evening Primrose,<br />
Oenothera deltoides) flowers bloom 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 has 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.
    11NV2-4074_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Echinocereus triglochidiatus (common name Claret Cup Hedgehog, Mojave mound cactus, or Kingcup cactus) is native to southwest USA and northern Mexico. Echinocerens is from the Greek echinos, meaning a hedgehog, and cereus meaning a wax taper. Triglochidialus means "three barbed bristles" and refers to the straight spines arranged in clusters of three. Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site is popular for birding and bouldering (rock climbing) in El Paso County, Texas, USA.
    1404TX-1165.jpg
  • Fields of White Avalanche Lilies bloom in late July along the trail in Spray Park, in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Erythronium montanum (in the Liliaceae family) is native to the alpine and subalpine Olympic and Cascade Ranges of the Pacific Northwest and coastal British Columbia, in North America. Avalanche Lilies bloom as snow melts in late spring and early summer in damp subalpine woodlands and alpine meadows. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1207SP2_122-125pan_Rainier-Avalanche...jpg
  • Ripples on the water surface distorts this view of an orange and red sea anemone at the Seattle Aquarium, Washington. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. At the Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, the Art Committee selected this 17x22 inch print for display in the Jones Pavilion Level 11 Orthopedic Inpatient unit art collection, 2011.
    0803AQU-16.jpg
  • The tiger lily or Columbia lily (Lilium columbianum) is native to western North America. In the Bishop Creek watershed, enjoy a scenic hike from North Lake to Lamarck Lakes in John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada, California, USA. The moderate trail to Upper Lamarck Lake is 5.5 miles round trip with 1550 feet cumulative gain.
    1507CAL-2214.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_4187-Lower_Antelope_Canyon.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0282_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • The Matterhorn (4478 meters or 14,980 feet, Monte Cervino in Italian, Mont Cervin in French) catches sunrise light, seen from Zermatt, Switzerland. Small electric taxis serve Zermatt, which bars combustion-engine cars to help preserve small village atmosphere and prevent air pollution. The famous mountaineering and ski resort of Zermatt lies at 1620 meters or 5310 feet elevation at the head of Mattertal (Matter Valley) in Valais canton, Switzerland, the Pennine Alps, Europe. The German word matten means "alpine meadows." Most visitors reach Zermatt by cog railway train from the nearby town of Täsch (Zermatt shuttle). Trains also depart for Zermatt from farther down the valley at Visp and Brig on the main Swiss rail network. Hike the High Route (Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route) for exceptional mountain scenery. Published in Wilderness Travel 1992 Catalog of Adventures. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    81ALP-09-15_Matterhorn.jpg
  • Above the Arctic Circle, ascend a slippery steep trail to Reinebringen for spectacular views of sharply glaciated peaks surrounding Reinefjord, on Moskenesøya (the Moskenes Island), Lofoten archipelago, Nordland county, Norway. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    11NOR-1376-77pan_Reine_Moskenes-Lofo...jpg
  • Partition Arch, Devils Garden Trail, 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-194_Partition-Arch_Utah.jpg
  • Walk an idyllic path in Selva di Val Gardena village beneath Langkofel/Sassolungo peak on your way to Vallunga, in the 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 Dolomites, in the South Tyrol region (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol) of Italy, Europe. 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-50431_Langkofel-Sassolungo-Dol...jpg
  • The medieval Bled Castle (Slovene: Blejski grad, German: Burg Veldes) was built a little before 1011 AD on a cliff above Lake Bled, above the city of Bled, in what is now Slovenia, Europe. Bled Castle’s chapel was built in the 1500s and renovated around 1700 with illusionist frescoes. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    13SLO-1310-12pan_Bled-Castle-Sloveni...jpg
  • Admire fanciful hoodoos, mushroom shapes, and rock pinnacles in Goblin Valley State Park, in Emery County between the towns of Green River and Hanksville, in central Utah, USA. The Goblin rocks eroded from Entrada Sandstone, which is comprised of alternating layers of sandstone (cross-bedded by former tides), siltstone, and shale debris which were eroded from former highlands and redeposited in beds on a former tidal flat.
    06UT_1080-Goblin-Valley.jpg
  • A white Avalanche Lily (Erythronium) grows next to a yellow Glacier Lily on Tolmie Peak, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    05RAI_064.jpg
  • Behind glass reflecting Bodie ghost town is a dress form in Boone Store and Warehouse (built 1879). This building was owned by Harvey Boone (a direct descendent of Daniel Boone), who may have owned a business longer than anyone else in town. Bodie is 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-2757_Bodie-CA.jpg
  • Electra Havemeyer Webb Memorial Building stores a European Paintings Collection in six period rooms relocated from Electra and J. Watson Webb's 1930s New York City apartment on 740 Park Avenue. Shelburne Museum is one of the finest, most diverse, unconventional museums of American folk art. Visit this extensive museum in the town of Shelburne, near Lake Champlain, in Vermont, USA. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 38 buildings, 25 of which are historic (relocated from New England and New York). See impressionist paintings, American paintings, artifacts of the 1600s-1900s, folk art, quilts and textiles, carriages, furniture, a lighthouse, covered bridge, and 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga. Electra Havemeyer Webb, an avid collector of American folk art, founded the Museum in 1947.
    1410VT-113_Shelburne-Museum.jpg
  • A yellow Potentilla flower blooms in wild alpine gardens of Graubünden canton, Grison Alps, Switzerland, Europe. Cinquefoil or Potentilla is a genus containing over 300 species of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae.
    05ALP_6077-yellow-Potentilla-flower-...jpg
  • Atop Gokyo Ri, admire Mount Everest, Himalayan peaks, and prayer flags. Mount Everest (center left; 29,029 feet / 8848 meters), the highest mountain on Earth, has the older name of Chomolungma or Qomolangma ("Goddess Mother of the Earth" in Tibetan). To the right are Lhotse and Makalu (both higher than 8000 meters). In 1865, Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India named the mountain for his chief and predecessor, Colonel Sir George Everest. In the 1960s, the Government of Nepal named the mountain Sagarmatha, meaning "Goddess of the Sky". The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. These colorful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags invoke compassion. Sagarmatha National Park was created in 1976 and honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NEP-4340.jpg
  • Horse and colt. North faces of the Geisler/Odle Group drop nearly 1000 meters into Val di Funes (Villnöß valley) in the Dolomites, Italy, Europe. Puez-Geisler Nature Park (Italian: Parco naturale Puez Odle; German: Naturpark Puez-Geisler) is in Südtirol/South Tyrol/Alto Adige, in the Dolomiti, part of the Southern Limestone Alps, Italy. The Dolomites were declared a natural World Heritage Site (2009) by UNESCO.
    11ITA-3059.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.
    03AZ-05-16-The-WaveCoyote-Buttes.jpg
  • A blue oar boat floats in the green Mediterranean Sea, at Loutro harbor, Crete, Greece, Europe. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    01GRE-23-20-boat-Loutro-Harbor-Crete.jpg
  • A Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is shown at Bonorong Wildlife Park, Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, Australia. Wombats are burrowing grass eaters, and can be thought of as the marsupial ecological equivalent of a bear. Wombats are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of southeast Australia including Tasmania, plus an isolated group in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. The three living species of wombats are marsupial mammals in the Vombatidae family. They dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. Their unusual backwards-facing pouch avoids gathering dirt onto its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. Wombats are herbivores, mostly eating grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots. Published on Australian geocaching coin 2010, displayed in support of Wilder Foundation 2009, 2010, and exhibited at Oceanario de Lisboa, Portugal 2007. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-30201_Wombat_Bonorong-WP.jpg
  • Watson Creek, Douglas County, Oregon, USA. To get there, turn onto Road 37, off Highway 138 near the east entrance to Toketee Ranger station (Umpqua National Forest), about 60 miles east of Roseburg.
    04UMP-0104-Watson-Creek.jpg
  • Waves crash at sunset on Kalalau Beach, Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    95HAW-12-24_Na-Pali-Coast_Kauai.jpg
  • Sun with lens flares over Mount Fitz Roy (3405 meters or 11,170 feet) in the southern Andes mountains, near El Chaltén village, in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, South America. Bright sun creates lens flares shining through a stopped down camera aperture. In 1877, explorer Perito Moreno named "Cerro Fitz Roy" for Robert FitzRoy (no space before the capital R) who, as captain of the HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted much of the Patagonian coast. First climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone, Mount Fitz Roy has very fickle weather and is one of the world's most challenging technical ascents. It is also called Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, and Monte Fitz Roy (with a space before the R). Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain" (explained by frequent orographic clouds). Cerro is a Spanish word meaning hill. El Chaltén village was built in 1985 by Argentina to help secure the disputed border with Chile, and now tourism supports it, 220 km north of the larger town of El Calafate. The foot of South America is known as Patagonia, a name derived from coastal giants, Patagão or Patagoni, who were reported by Magellan's 1520s voyage circumnavigating the world and were actually Tehuelche native people who averaged 25 cm (or 10 inches) taller than the Spaniards. Mount Fitz Roy is the basis for the Patagonia company's clothing logo, after Yvon Chouinard's ascent and subsequent film in 1968.
    05ARG-50072.jpg
  • Sunrise light strikes 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_6147-Bryce-NP-Sunrise.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_4171-Lower_Antelope_Canyon.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-1298_Mobius-Arch_Alabama-Hil...jpg
  • A unique landscape of beautifully striped bedrock descends from Pemaquid Light to the Atlantic Ocean. Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was built in 1835 and commemorated on Maine's state quarter (released 2003). Visit Lighthouse Park at the tip of Pemaquid Neck in New Harbor, near Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, USA. From Damariscotta on bustling US Highway 1, drive 15 miles south on Maine Route 130 to the park. The keeper's house (built 1857) is now the Fishermen's Museum at Pemaquid. Geologic history: Silurian Period sediments laid down 430 million years ago were metamorphosed underground into a gneiss 360-415 million years ago, and intruded by molten rock which cooled slowly, creating the park's exposed metamorphic gray rocks with dikes of harder, white igneous rock. Underground heat and pressure tortured and folded the rock layers into the striking patterns that are now pounded and polished by the sea and rough weather. The panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1410ME-825-827pan_Pemaquid-Point.jpg
  • The sun backlights Corona Arch, 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.
    1403UT-256_Corona-Arch.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 7 overlapping photos.
    1403NM-1174-80pan_Kasha-Katuwe_Tent-...jpg
  • A weathered blue door is stained green by Venice Lagoon tides. 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-10009_Venice-Italy-blue-door.jpg
  • Water reflects morning sun which shimmers underneath a pedestrian bridge in the Ghetto, in Cannaregio sestiere, Venice (Venezia), Italy, Europe. The Venetian Ghetto was where Jews were compelled to live under the Venetian Republic starting in 1516, and from this the word "ghetto" originates. 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-10005_Venice-Italy.jpg
  • Explore colorful fossilized sand dunes in the Paw Hole section of South Coyote Buttes, in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, USA. The Coyote Buttes area exposes cross-bedded aeolian Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. Various iron oxides bled through the sandstone layers to create a salmon color; hematite and goethite added yellows, oranges, browns, and purples. For the required hiking permit, contact the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM, in Kanab, Utah). Access to this Federal public land is regulated to protect fragile geologic formations. Coyote Buttes are within Vermilion Cliffs National Monument (established in 2000 within Arizona), which is within Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area (established in 1984 spanning across the borders of Utah and Arizona).
    1303AZ-1396.jpg
  • Sunset pierces orange thunderhead clouds at Soglio village, Bregaglia Valley, Graubünden (Grisons) canton, Switzerland, the Alps, Europe.
    05ALP_8026-Soglio-Val-Bregaglia.jpg
  • Glaciated peaks rise high above Kjerkfjorden and Reinefjorden. Above the Arctic Circle, ascend a slippery steep trail to Reinebringen for spectacular views of Reinefjord and Moskenesøya (the Moskenes Island), Lofoten archipelago, Nordland county, Norway. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    11NOR-1378-81pan_Kjerkfjord-Moskenes...jpg
  • Sunset light turns orange over sharp peaks of 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-2205.jpg
  • Skyline Arch eroded within the Slick Rock member of Entrada Sandstone in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. Fractal branching of a twisted dead tree frames the arch. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06UT_2264-Skyline-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.
    11AZ1-2241_Lower-Antelope-Canyon.jpg
  • Lake Michigan waves have tumbled and smoothed colorful pebbles into rounded shapes at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. The scenic park includes the hilly shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais, Michigan. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    03MI-G0014_pebble-pattern_Pictured-R...jpg
  • Tides have shaped sea sand into scalloped abstract patterns at Seaside, on the Oregon coast, USA
    08ORC-700.jpg
  • In mid October huckleberry bushes on the flanks of Mount Rainier (14,411 feet/4392 meters) turn bright red and yellow. Lakes Trail, Mazama Ridge, near Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Left to right are Wilson Glacier, Nisqually Glacier, Muir Snowfield, Camp Muir, Paradise-Stevens Glacier, Cowlitz Glacier, Ingraham Glacier, Whitman Glacier.
    1010RAI-226-234pan_Mt-Rainier.jpg
  • Painted Hills Unit, Overlook Trail, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, USA. John Day Fossil Beds preserves layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived between the late Eocene, about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago.
    1403OR-122_Painted-Hills_John-Day.jpg
  • Crepuscular rays of sunlight break through clouds 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-2204.jpg
  • Billion-year-old sedimentary rock erodes into yellow and blue patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. 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-0164.jpg
  • Japanese maples turn red and orange by a garden stream 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. The image was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1310ARB-090-95pan_fall-leaf-colors.jpg
  • At Refugio Baita Segantini, fog swirls around the Pala group (Pale di San Martino) and reflects in a pond. The sharp pyramid of Cimon della Pala (or Cimone, 3184 m/10,446 ft) is known as the Matterhorn of the Dolomites (il Cervino delle Dolomiti). To its left is Cima della Vezana (3192m), highest of the Pala Dolomites. Walk from Passo Rolle to Baita Segantini near the mountain resort of San Martino di Castrozza, in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy, Europe. 200 million years ago, Triassic coral reefs fossilized into Dolomite. Collision of tectonic plates lifted the Dolomites within the Southern Limestone Alps. UNESCO honored the Dolomites as a natural World Heritage Site in 2009. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    13ITA-11210-15pan_Pala-Dolomites.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 4 overlapping photos.
    1111CAL-606-609pan_Yosemite-Valley.jpg
  • Purakaunui Falls, in the Catlins District, South Island, New Zealand. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NZ_2042_Purakaunui-Falls.jpg
  • Mesa Arch glows at sunrise in Canyonlands National Park, Utah in 2006. Panorama stitched from five images. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06UT_2137-2141pan_Mesa-Arch_Canyonla...jpg
  • A ray of sunlight pierces Upper Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona, USA. Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park. Panorama stitched from three overlapping images. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06AZ_4062-4064pan_Upper-Antelope-Can...jpg
  • Lichen covers old-growth trees in Deception Pass State Park, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA
    05WHI-10090-lichen-covered-trees_Dec...jpg
  • Five-Finger Fern (or Western Maidenhair, Latin name Adiatnum pedatum aleuticum) thrives in the lush green Twin Falls Natural Area, Ollalie State Park, in the Cascade foothills of western Washington, USA.
    05TWI_23-Five-Finger-Fern_Western-Ma...jpg
  • Explore the elegant subway and slot of Leprechaun Canyon in North Wash, between Hanksville & Hite, Utah, USA. Desert varnish coats the Triassic-Jurassic sandstone. Directions: from Hanksville, drive 26 miles south on Highway 95 to the junction with Utah 276 and stay left on H95 for another 2.0 miles across a wash, then park on the left (east) along a short road within the first 100 feet before its sandtrap end. Walk up the wash of Leprechaun Canyon 2 miles round trip to a subway which narrows to a tight squeeze called Belfast Boulevard.  Nearby, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is just 8 miles south on H95. 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 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 2 overlapping photos.
    1503SW-0807-808pan_Leprechaun-Canyon.jpg
  • Explore the beautiful slot of Ding Canyon on BLM land in the 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-0780_Ding-Canyon.jpg
  • Explore the beautiful slot of Ding Canyon on BLM land in the 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-0777_Ding-Canyon.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
  • Painted Hills Unit, Overlook Trail, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, USA. John Day Fossil Beds preserves layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived between the late Eocene, about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago.
    1403OR-068_Painted-Hills_John-Day.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).
    1403NM-0072_Bisti_De-Na-Zin-Wilderne...jpg
  • A pond reflects Hotel Gonzaga and peaks of the Langkofel Group (Sassolungo, 3181 meters / 10,436 feet) and Sella Group, in Val di Fassa, 2 km west of Passo Pordoi, in the Dolomites, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, Italy. We highly recommend lodging in a pristine, roomy apartment with full kitchen in a beautiful setting at Hotel Gonzaga Appartamenti Garni (Canazei, I-38032, Streda de Pordoi, 102, telephone +39 0462 602121). The Dolomites are part of the Southern Limestone Alps, Europe. UNESCO honored the Dolomites as a natural World Heritage Site in 2009. This panorama was stitched from 5 overlapping photos.
    13ITA-20443-47pan_Langkofel-Sassolun...jpg
  • A duck swims across an intricate pattern of leaves reflected in the emerald and blue waters of Lake Bled (Blejsko jezero), in the Julian Alps, Slovenia, Europe. Lake Bled hosted the World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979, 1989, and 2011. The lake is 35 kilometers from Ljubljana International Airport.
    13SLO-1371_Lake-Bled-Slovenia.jpg
  • Fields of White Avalanche Lilies bloom in late July along the trail in Spray Park, in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. Erythronium montanum (in the Liliaceae family) is native to the alpine and subalpine Olympic and Cascade Ranges of the Pacific Northwest and coastal British Columbia, in North America. Avalanche Lilies bloom as snow melts in late spring and early summer in damp subalpine woodlands and alpine meadows.
    1207SP2_117_Avalanche-Lily.jpg
  • Stepping stones lead to an old wood door with faded orange stain and blue green trim, in Kastraki, Meteora, Greece.
    01GRE-42-20_MDS-brown-door-turquoise...jpg
  • Russell Falls, in Mount Field National Park, is an icon of Tasmania, Australia. Russell Falls flow over horizontal rock strata of Permian siltstone, with more-resistant vertical faces of sandstone. Surrounding plant life includes swamp gum and sassafras. The Tasmanian Wilderness was honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, expanded in 1989. Published in Wilderness Travel 2006 and 2008 Catalog of Adventures. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04AUS-30215_Russell-Falls_Mt-Field-N...jpg
  • Berg Glacier and Berg Lake are a wonderful backpacking destination in Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, Canada. Mount Robson (3954 meters or 12,972 feet) is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, and is part of the Rainbow Range. Mount Robson is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site honored by UNESCO in 1984. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    08CAN-1696_Mt-Robson.jpg
  • From Männlichen Gipfel see the peaks of Eiger (Ogre 13,026 feet on left), Mönch (Monk), and Jungfrau (Virgin 13,600 feet on right) in the Berner Oberland, Switzerland, the Alps, Europe. Grindelwald Valley drops left and Lauterbrunnen Valley right. The world's longest continuous rack and pinion railway (Wengernalpbahn) goes from Grindelwald up to Kleine Scheidegg and down to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen. From Kleine Scheidegg, another cog train (Jungfraubahn) ascends steeply inside the Eiger to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. A gondola (gondelbahn) connects Grindelwald with Männlichen, where a cable car goes down to Wengen (Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen). From Männlichen station, walk uphill 15 minutes for a stunning summit view. Published on the cover of Ryder Walker Alpine Adventures 2005 Catalog. Published in September/October 2004 Sierra Magazine (Sierra Club Outings, double page opening spread). Published in Wilderness Travel 2000, 1993, 2014 Catalog of Adventures, and 2015 Private Journeys. Featured in a Swiss movie by Meret Nora Burger.
    81ALP-04-15_Eiger-Monch-Jungfrau_MAS...jpg
  • Rice, wheat, maize, millet, potatoes and other crops grow on these steep terraces near Tolka, Nepal.
    07NEP-1708.jpg
  • Blue boats, canal, and houses painted blue, red, orange, yellow. Burano, known for knitted lacework, fishing, and colorfully painted houses, is a small archipelago of four islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, Europe. Burano's traditional house colors are strictly regulated by government. The Romans may have been first to settle Burano. Romantic Venice (Venezia), "City of Canals," stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po (south) and Piave (north) Rivers. Venice and the Venetian Lagoon are honored on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
    11ITA-4233.jpg
  • Crepuscular rays of sunlight break through clouds 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-2191.jpg
  • Blue and white patterns penetrate brown sedimentary rocks at Dawson Pass 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.
    10GLA-2326.jpg
  • Billion-year-old sedimentary rock erodes into yellow and purple 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-0100.jpg
  • Billion-year-old rock breaks into a jagged pattern in Glacier National Park, Montana. 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-0077.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.
    11NV2-4021_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.
    11NV1-1097_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada-...jpg
  • The sandstone cliffs of the Court of the Patriarchs tower over the Virgin River in Zion National Park, near 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. (Panorama stitched from 6 photos.)
    11UT1-2007-12pan_Zion-NP-Utah.jpg
  • Little Wild Horse Canyon, Utah. A short drive from Goblin Valley State Park Campground is a great 9 mile loop hike up Little Wild Horse Canyon and back down Bell Canyon. The hike requires some scrambling up and down sandstone ledges, through occasional shallow water holes and fascinating narrow slots. The Navajo and Wingate sandstone of the San Rafael Reef was uplifted fifty million years ago into a striking bluff which now runs from Price to Hanksville, bisected by Interstate 70 at a breach fifteen miles west of the town of Green River. The San Rafael Reef (and Swell) is one of the wildest places left in Utah. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    06UT_2001_Little-Wild-Horse-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.
    11AZ1-2055_Lower-Antelope-Canyon.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_4145-Lower_Antelope_Canyon.jpg
  • Dark clouds highlighted with sunset orange contrast with blue sky above a somber silhouette of a bare tree in Parke County, Indiana.
    10IND-179.jpg
  • The pounding Pacific Ocean has eroded sea stack rocks from bluffs at Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA -- at dusk, the sky glows yellow orange. A time exposure blurs restless currents swirling at low tide.
    08ORC-162.jpg
  • Two pretty waterfalls along the North Umpqua River, on the half-mile trail to Toketee Falls, Oregon, USA. Published by the Portland Monthly, September 2008 ("Weekend Getaways" article). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    04UMP-0024_N-Umpqua-River.jpg
  • The Granite Mountain Trail ascends through a misty forest of evergreen trees in Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. Hike 8 miles with 3800 feet elevation gain, starting from Exit 47 of Interstate 90 near Seattle, Washington, USA.
    0709GRA-07-forest-tree-trunks.jpg
  • Trees reflect in Mason Lake, on Ira Spring Memorial Trail #1038, in Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area (Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest), near Interstate 90, Washington, USA. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    0708DEF-085-Mason-Lake-reflects-tree...jpg
  • Lewis' monkeyflower blooms on the Wonderland Trail to Summerland in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA.
    0708SUM-031-Monkeyflower.jpg
  • Leaves turn red, orange, and yellow in late August in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA.
    06AK_5002-leaf-color-pattern.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
  • Intriguing towers of calcium-carbonate decorate the South Tufa Area, in Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Lee Vining, California, USA. The Reserve protects wetlands that support millions of birds, and preserves Mono Lake's distinctive tufa towers -- calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Mono Lake has no outlet and is one of the oldest lakes in North America. Over the past million years, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams and evaporation has made the water 2.5 times saltier than the ocean. This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and blackflies. Since 1941, diversion of lake water tributary streams by the city of Los Angeles lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. In response, the Mono Lake Committee won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially restore the lake level. This panorama was stitched from 11 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2464-74pan_Mono-Lake-CA.jpg
  • 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
  • Echinocereus triglochidiatus (common name Claret Cup Hedgehog, Mojave mound cactus, or Kingcup cactus) is native to southwest USA and northern Mexico. Echinocerens is from the Greek echinos, meaning a hedgehog, and cereus meaning a wax taper. Triglochidialus means "three barbed bristles" and refers to the straight spines arranged in clusters of three. Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site is popular for birding and bouldering (rock climbing) in El Paso County, Texas, USA.
    1404TX-1166_Claret-cup-cactus.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
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