Desert photos

Cholla cactus, brittlebush, ocotillo and various cacti and wildflowers color the sides of Glorietta Canyon. Heavy winter rains led to a historic springtime bloom in 2005, carpeting the entire desert in vegetation and color for months.
Species: Encelia farinosa, Fouquieria splendens, Opuntia
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 10975  

Tiny hikers atop Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California. Near Stovepipe Wells lies a region of sand dunes, some of them hundreds of feet tall.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 15577  

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28689  

Milky Way at Night over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30220  
Panorama dimensions: 4709 x 9140

Rainbow and clearing storm clouds, sunrise light on Manly Beacon, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.
Location: Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27660  

The Milky Way galaxy arches over Arch Rock on a clear evening in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26792  

Racetrack sailing stone and star trails. A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27671  

Sailing stone on the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27689  

Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28426  

Venus sets over Manley Beacon and the Panamint Mountains, viewed from Zabriskie Point, landscape lit by a full moon, evening, stars.
Location: Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28677  

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28680  

Joshua Trees in early morning light.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22112  

Eureka Valley Dune Evening Primrose. A federally endangered plant, Oenothera californica eurekensis is a perennial herb that produces white flowers from April to June. These flowers turn red as they age. The Eureka Dunes evening-primrose is found only in the southern portion of Eureka Valley Sand Dunes system in Indigo County, California.
Species: Eureka valley dune evening primrose, Oenothera californica eurekensis, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25237  

Sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22100  

Brittlebush blooms in spring, Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Brittlebush, Encelia farinosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 24304  

Sunset on the Last Chance Mountain Range, seen from Eureka Valley Sand Dunes.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25238  

Sunset and boulders, Joshua Tree National Park. Sunset lights the giant boulders and rock formations near Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree N.P.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26719  
Panorama dimensions: 5493 x 10035

Boulders and sunset in Joshua Tree National Park. The warm sunlight gently lights unusual boulder formations at Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, California.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26726  

The Milky Way galaxy arcs above Arch Rock, panoramic photograph, cylindrical projection.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26848  
Panorama dimensions: 6121 x 10275

Joshua Trees silhouetted against predawn sunrise light.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22115  

Racetrack Playa, an ancient lake now dried and covered with dessicated mud.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25263  

Eureka Dunes. The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are California's tallest sand dunes, and one of the tallest in the United States. Rising 680' above the floor of the Eureka Valley, the Eureka sand dunes are home to several endangered species, as well as "singing sand" that makes strange sounds when it shifts. Located in the remote northern portion of Death Valley National Park, the Eureka Dunes see very few visitors.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25250  

Star trails and Arch Rock. Polaris, the North Star, is at the center of the circular arc star trails as they pass above this natural stone archway in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27709  

The Milky Way Galaxy shines in the night sky with a Joshua Tree silhouetted in the foreground.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 27805  

Live Oak and Milky Way, rocks and stars, Joshua Tree National Park at night.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28417  
Panorama dimensions: 4848 x 7431

Full moon over Zabriskie Point landscape.
Location: Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28676  

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28688  

A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25239  

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, Aug 13, 2014.
Location: Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 31144