USA - California - Deserts

Flowers explode in spring

(photos of March 2005)

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Southern California deserts

Southern California has famous deserts such as Death Valley and Anza-Borrego Desert, which are parts of the Mojave Desert (described at Wikipedia). This "High Desert", as it is also called, stretches from the tall coastal mountains above Los Angeles deep into Nevada. Large parts of the Mojave Desert lie at altitudes near or above 1000 m or 3000 ft, while Death Valley dips to 86 m or 282 ft below sea level, the lowest (and hottest) point in the US.

Despite their name, these "deserts" are home to many plants and animals. In particular, spring brings a short but spectacular explosion of flowers. This blooming, which depends on the year's rains, is tracked and pictured by enthusiasts on the web. Spring 2005 was particularly colorful, as shown in a video here. I visited and took the pictures shown here at the tail end of that special spring.

Death Valley alive with flowers

Death Valley National Park (described at Wikipedia, map) lies on the California-Nevada border, less than 300 km north of Los Angeles and less than 200 km west of Las Vegas.

Approaching from the town of Shoshone east of the Park on Highway 178 one crosses Jubilee Pass (just over 1000 m or 3000 ft high). On the slopes down to the Death Valley floor, many flowers were blooming. The following pictures were taken near this spot (turn on Wikimapia's hybrid view to see roads). The scrollable panorama spans 360 degrees: at left the view looks down into the Death Valley floor, while the snow-capped Panamint Range looms on the horizon (it peaks at 3368 m or 11,050 ft). Crowds form where the flowers are most dense.

The following 360-degree panorama and pictures were taken at the edge of the Death Valley floor on an alluvial fan (map). The snowy Panamint Range forms the other side of the salt-covered valley.

Badwater

The lowest point of Death Valley is called Badwater (described at Wikipedia, map). The amount of water varies enormously with the rare rains. Most visitors hardly see a small pool in the center of the wide valley. During my visit, the pool, although still very shallow, extended to the roadside. Despite its high salt content, some life exists in this water.

Near Badwater one can walk up a narrow, usually dry canyon under the Natural Bridge (described here, map). The mouth of this canyon gives a good view of Badwater. Rains can cause devastating floods in such canyons.

Serene Panamint Valley

On the opposite, western side of the snow-capped Panamint Range stretches Panamint Valley (described at Wikipedia, map). This valley runs parallel to Death Valley, but is less deep and much less visited. It also serves as a military low-level supersonic flight test area, which must greatly perturb the serenity of this quiet and beautiful valley. The next panorama spans 360 degrees, the second one over 180 degrees.