Desert photos

Spring Wildflowers Bloom in an Colorful Bouquet in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Dune evening primrose (white) is mixed with sand verbena (purple) and desert sunflower (yellow) near Henderson Canyon Road, Spring 2024.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Desert Sunflower, Oenothera deltoides, Geraea canescens
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40294  

Desert Lily Blooming in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. While the Desert Lily is typically an uncommon or rare flower, in Spring 2024 it was present in enormous numbers. 2024 was the Year of the Desert Lily.
Species: Desert Lily, Hesperocallis undulata
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40293  

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

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  

Sunset on the 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: 25240  

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: 25241  

Milky Way over Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28411  

The Milky Way stretches across the sky above Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28407  

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: 27691  

Milky Way over Joshua Tree National Park at Astronomical Twilight, Pre-dawn.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 28414  

Sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22101  

Brittlebush at sunrise, dawn, springtime bloom, Palm Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Brittlebush, Encelia farinosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 24301  

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: 26720  

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: 26730  

The Milky Way galaxy above Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, night star field exposure.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26862  

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, Aug 13, 2014.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 31145  

Salt polygons. After winter flooding, the salt on the Badwater Basin playa dries into geometric polygonal shapes.
Location: Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25242  

Dried mud, arid land, Eureka Valley.
Location: Eureka Valley, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25244  

Spring wildflower blooms on the Eureka sand dunes.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25245  

Eureka dune grass is a rare and federally endangered species of grass endemic to the Eureka Valley and Eureka Sand Dunes. The Last Chance mountains, lit by sunset, are visible in the distance. Swallenia alexandrae, a perennial grass, grows only in the southern portion of Eureka Valley Sand Dunes, in Inyo County, California.
Species: Eureka dune grass, Swallenia alexandrae
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25358  

Racetrack Playa, an ancient lake now dried and covered with dessicated mud.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25264  

Darwin Falls in Death Valley, near the settlement of Panamint Springs. The falls are fed by a perennial stream that flows through a narrow canyon of plutonic rock, and drop of total of 80' (24m) in two sections.
Location: Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27683  

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: 25249  

Sunset over the Racetrack Playa. The Cottonwood Mountains rise above the flat, dry, ancient lake bed.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25265  

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: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26794  

Salt polygons. After winter flooding, the salt on the Badwater Basin playa dries into geometric polygonal shapes.
Location: Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 27631  

Racetrack sailing stone and Milky Way, at night. 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: 27640  

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: 27667  

Boulders and stars, moonlight in Joshua Tree National Park. The moon gently lights unusual boulder formations at Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, California.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 27716