Paramotor on a sunset flight over the Algodones Dunes in the Sonoran Desert. Glamis, Imperial County, California, United States.
Californian Sahara. Although a small fraction of the Sahara Desert, the Algodones Dunes will be big enough for the Hollywood moviemakers to make believe it is. Stargate starring Kurt Russel was shot in these dunes. Glamis, Imperial County, California, United States.
The Amargosa Range is a long mountain range running on the eastern side of Death Valley’s below-sea-level dry basin. Hard to imagine, looking at that parched mountain near Furnace Creek that a short 180km to the west, there is another mountain range with the earth largest living organism: the General Sherman Sequoia. Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, United States.
The pink coloration of the salt flats at Searles Lake is due to microscopic living organisms. Trona, San Bernardino County, California, United States.
Dendritic drainage pattern in a barren treeless landscape. Searles Lake, Trona, San Bernardino County, California, United States.
Searles Lake is an endorheic (basin with no outflow) dry lake. This evaporite basin with a wealth of desirable minerals has been mined as early as 1873 by John Searles. This colorful delta is a “manufactured” landscape. Trona, San Bernardino County, California, United States.
Undoubtedly, the most famous fault in the world. It is the photo of choice in any geology book to illustrate what a right-lateral transform fault is. The Pacific and the North American plates are sliding left to right, relative to each other. The displacement is made obvious by the two offset washes in the foreground. Carrizo Plain, San luis Obispo County, California, United States.
Sword of Damocles lurking below the surface of the earth. San Andreas Fault, Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States.
Bone-dry and prone to floods. At Furnace Creek Inn, the average yearly rainfall is only 50mm, but a few times every decade, a torrential downpour in the surrounding mountains will fill the dry washes, wreaking havoc. This large alluvial fan at the mouth of Furnace Creek Wash gives an idea of the intensities of flash floods. Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, United States.
Ivanpah Solar Power Plant (world's largest concentrated solar power plant as of 2018). Mojave Desert, California, United States.