The American Southwest photos

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Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Mesa Arch spans 90 feet and stands at the edge of a mesa precipice thousands of feet above the Colorado River gorge. For a few moments at sunrise the underside of the arch glows dramatically red and orange.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18040  
Rainbow and clearing storm clouds, sunrise light on Manly Beacon, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
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  
Milky Way over the Watchman, Zion National Park. The Milky Way galaxy rises in the night sky above the the Watchman
Milky Way over the Watchman, Zion National Park. The Milky Way galaxy rises in the night sky above the the Watchman.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 28587  
Archangel Falls in autumn, near the Subway in North Creek Canyon, with maples and cottonwoods turning fall colors, Zion National Park, Utah
Archangel Falls in autumn, near the Subway in North Creek Canyon, with maples and cottonwoods turning fall colors.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26097  
Spectacular Horseshoe Bend sunrise. The Colorado River makes a 180-degree turn at Horseshoe Bend. Here the river has eroded the Navajo sandstone for eons, digging a canyon 1100-feet deep, Page, Arizona
Spectacular Horseshoe Bend sunrise. The Colorado River makes a 180-degree turn at Horseshoe Bend. Here the river has eroded the Navajo sandstone for eons, digging a canyon 1100-feet deep.
Location: Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 35939  
Milky Way and Stars over Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Milky Way and Stars over Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah.
Location: Broken Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29238  
Brittlebush blooms in spring, Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Encelia farinosa, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
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  
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, Death Valley National Park, California
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  
Sunset at Dead Horse Point Overlook, with the Colorado River flowing 2,000 feet below. 300 million years of erosion has carved the expansive canyons, cliffs and walls below and surrounding Deadhorse Point, Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah
Sunset at Dead Horse Point Overlook, with the Colorado River flowing 2,000 feet below. 300 million years of erosion has carved the expansive canyons, cliffs and walls below and surrounding Deadhorse Point.
Location: Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah
Image ID: 27823  
Panorama dimensions: 5303 x 17695
Joshua Tree National Park, California
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28426  
The Virgin River Narrows, where the Virgin River has carved deep, narrow canyons through the Zion National Park sandstone, creating one of the finest hikes in the world
The Virgin River Narrows, where the Virgin River has carved deep, narrow canyons through the Zion National Park sandstone, creating one of the finest hikes in the world.
Location: Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 28583  
Dawn over the Skyline Rim, Factory Bench and Lower Blue Hills, Utah. The Henry Mountains are in the distance
Dawn over the Skyline Rim, Factory Bench and Lower Blue Hills, Utah. The Henry Mountains are in the distance.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38025  
Aerial photo of the San Rafael Reef at dawn. A fold in the Earth's crust leads to this inclined section of the San Rafael Reef, at the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Clearly seen are the characteristic triangular flatiron erosion patterns that typical this formation. The colors seen here arise primarily from Navajo and Wingate sandstone
Aerial photo of the San Rafael Reef at dawn. A fold in the Earth's crust leads to this inclined section of the San Rafael Reef, at the eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Clearly seen are the characteristic triangular flatiron erosion patterns that typical this formation. The colors seen here arise primarily from Navajo and Wingate sandstone.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 39787  
Dune Evening Primrose bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Oenothera deltoides, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Dune Evening Primrose bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 35203  
The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only
The Wave, an area of fantastic eroded sandstone featuring beautiful swirls, wild colors, countless striations, and bizarre shapes set amidst the dramatic surrounding North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah. The sandstone formations of the North Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, date from the Jurassic period. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Wave is located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and is accessible on foot by permit only.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20608  
Snow geese at dawn. Snow geese often "blast off" just before or after dawn, leaving the ponds where they rest for the night to forage elsewhere during the day, Chen caerulescens, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Snow geese at dawn. Snow geese often "blast off" just before or after dawn, leaving the ponds where they rest for the night to forage elsewhere during the day.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21806  
Joshua Trees in early morning light, Yucca brevifolia, Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Trees in early morning light.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22112  
Sand verbena wildflowers on sand dunes, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Abronia villosa, Borrego Springs, California
Sand verbena wildflowers on sand dunes, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Sand verbena, Abronia villosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 35115  
Teepee rocks at sunrise with the Vermillion Cliffs in the distance, Page, Arizona
Teepee rocks at sunrise with the Vermillion Cliffs in the distance.
Location: Page, Arizona
Image ID: 36026  
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33243  
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33246  
Full moon with 22-degree lunar halo, Joshua Tree National Park. The lunar halo (not to be cofused with lunar corona) forms when moonlight refracts through high altitude ice crystals. As no light is refracted at angles smaller than 22-degrees the sky is darker inside the halo
Full moon with 22-degree lunar halo, Joshua Tree National Park. The lunar halo (not to be cofused with lunar corona) forms when moonlight refracts through high altitude ice crystals. As no light is refracted at angles smaller than 22-degrees the sky is darker inside the halo.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30711  
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33237  
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Wildflowers bloom across Carrizo Plains National Monument, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Carrizo Plain National Monument, California
Image ID: 33242  
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, Oenothera californica eurekensis, Oenothera deltoides, Death Valley National Park
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, Yucca brevifolia
Sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22100  
Sunset on the Last Chance Mountain Range, seen from Eureka Valley Sand Dunes, Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Sunset on the Last Chance Mountain Range, seen from Eureka Valley Sand Dunes.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25238  
The Virgin River flows by autumn cottonwood trees, part of the Virgin River Narrows. This is a fantastic hike in fall with the comfortable temperatures, beautiful fall colors and light crowds, Zion National Park, Utah
The Virgin River flows by autumn cottonwood trees, part of the Virgin River Narrows. This is a fantastic hike in fall with the comfortable temperatures, beautiful fall colors and light crowds.
Location: Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26098  
Water rushes through a narrow crack, in the red sandstone of Zion National Park, with fallen autumn leaves
Water rushes through a narrow crack, in the red sandstone of Zion National Park, with fallen autumn leaves.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26100  
Sunset and boulders, Joshua Tree National Park. Sunset lights the giant boulders and rock formations near Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree N.P
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
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All photographs copyright © Phillip Colla / Oceanlight.com, all rights reserved worldwide.