The American Southwest photos

Milky Way during Full Lunar Eclipse over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 4 2015. The arch and surrounding landscape are illuminated by the faint light of the fully-eclipsed blood red moon. Light from the sun has passed obliquely through the Earth's thin atmosphere, taking on a red color, and is then reflected off the moon and reaches the Earth again to light the arch. The intensity of this light is so faint that the Milky Way can be seen clearly at the same time.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 30717  
Panorama dimensions: 8903 x 14184

Fantastic colorful sedimentary patterns of Bentonite layers, seen as striations exposed in the Utah Badlands. The Bentonite Hills are composed of the Brushy Basin shale member of the Morrison Formation formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes into layers, now revealed through erosion. Aerial photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 37947  

Erosion patterns in the Utah Badlands, aerial abstract photo.
Location: Hanksville, Utah
Image ID: 37948  

Molly's Castle, aerial view, Goblin Valley State Park. Curtis Formation whiteish caprock is on top, with reddish Entrada Sandstone below, both of Jurassic era. Molly's castle lies in the San Rafael desert near Goblin Valley, and drains into the Colorado River watershed. Aerial panoramic photograph.
Location: Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
Image ID: 37950  

Self-portrait at dawn, Bentonite Hills, Utah.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38028  

Lower Antelope Canyon, a deep, narrow and spectacular slot canyon lying on Navajo Tribal lands near Page, Arizona.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 26628  

Radio Tower Rock at Sunset, Page, Arizona.
Location: Page, Arizona
Image ID: 36023  

Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef National Park.
Location: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Image ID: 37011  

Fremont Cottonwood Tree in winter sillhouette against red Zion Canyon walls.
Location: Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 37795  

Snow geese in flight, wings are blurred in long time exposure as they are flying.
Species: Snow goose, Chen caerulescens
Location: Bosque Del Apache, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 26211  

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  

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: 21800  

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

Balanced Rock and Milky Way stars at night.
Location: Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 27835  

Dawn breaks over the Bentonite Hills in the Utah Badlands. Striations in soil reveal layers of the Morrison Formation, formed in swamps and lakes in the Jurassic era. Aerial panoramic photograph.
Location: Utah
Image ID: 38062  

Rattlesnake Canyon, a beautiful slot canyon that is part of the larger Antelope Canyon system. Page, Arizona.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 36039  

Belt of Venus over Grand Canyon at sunrise, viewed from Hopi Point on the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The Belt of Venus, or anti-twilight arch, is the shadow of the earth cast upon the atmosphere just above the horizon, and occurs a few minutes before sunrise or after sunset.
Location: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Image ID: 37765  
Panorama dimensions: 5409 x 10272

Dune Evening Primrose bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Oenothera deltoides
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 33168  

Brittlebush bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 33193  

Rising sun creates the photographers shadow on a sandstone wall.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 26474  

Upper Antelope Canyon, a deep, narrow and spectacular slot canyon lying on Navajo Tribal lands near Page, Arizona.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 35931  

The Organ at sunrise, Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park.
Location: Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 37859  

Brittlebush bloom in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, during the 2017 Superbloom.
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 33198  

Desert Sunflower Blooming Across Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Desert Sunflower, Geraea canescens
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 35196  

Sunset over Garden of the Gods, Arches National Park.
Location: Garden of the Gods, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29264  

Yellow cottonwood trees in autumn, fall colors in the Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park.
Location: Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26090  

Arch Rock at sunrise, Valley of Fire State Park. Natural arch formed in sandstone. Sunrise with the full moon setting over mountains in the distance.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 26472  

Fire Arch or Windstone Arch, also known as Fire Cave, is a tiny cave with a miniature arch and a group of natural pocket holes. Many people walk by this cave without realizing it is there!.
Location: Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Image ID: 26475  

Parry's Nolina, or Giant Nolina, a flowering plant native to southern California and Arizona founds in deserts and mountains to 6200'. It can reach 6' in height with its flowering inflorescence reaching 12'.
Species: Parry's nolina, Nolina parryi
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26725