Desert Photo, Desert photos, Natural History Photography

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: 27668

Joshua trees and star trails, moonlit night. The Joshua Tree is a species of yucca common in the lower Colorado desert and upper Mojave desert ecosystems.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 27710

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes, Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28681

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28682

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, Death Valley, Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California

Mesquite Dunes sunrise, Death Valley.
Location: Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 28690

Wind turbines, rise above the flat floor of the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs, with snow covered Mount San Jacinto in the background, provide electricity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
Location: San Gorgonio Pass, Palm Springs, California
Image ID: 22205

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: 26727

Desert iguana, one of the most common lizards of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Desert iguana, one of the most common lizards of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Species: Northern desert iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26728

Sunrise and flowering plant, a beautiful desert southwest scene in Joshua Tree National Park, California.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26729

Barker Dam, Joshua Tree National Park. Barker Dam, also known as the Big Horn Dam, is a water-storage facility located in Joshua Tree National Park in California. The dam was constructed by early cattlemen and ranchers. It is situated between Queen Valley and the Wonderland of Rocks near the Wall Street Mill and is a gathering place for desert wildlife.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26731
Panorama dimensions: 5645 x 10823

Joshua trees, a species of yucca common in the lower Colorado desert and upper Mojave desert ecosystems, Yucca brevifolia, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Joshua trees, a species of yucca common in the lower Colorado desert and upper Mojave desert ecosystems.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26732

Unidentified yucca or agave, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Unidentified yucca or agave.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 11914

Sunset and Earth Shadow, Jumbo Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26723

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: 26733

The Milky Way galaxy arcs over Arch Rock on a clear evening in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26793

Ancient granite boulders at Joshua Tree National park, at sunset, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Ancient granite boulders at Joshua Tree National park, at sunset.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26795

The Milky Way Galaxy shines in the night sky with a Joshua Tree silhouetted in the foreground, Joshua Tree National Park, California

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: 27806

The Grandstand, standing above dried mud flats, on the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, California

The Grandstand, standing above dried mud flats, on the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25318

Wind turbines provide electricity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. San Gorgonio pass, San Bernardino mountains, San Gorgonio Pass

Wind turbines provide electricity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. San Gorgonio pass, San Bernardino mountains.
Location: San Gorgonio Pass, Palm Springs, California
Image ID: 06856

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. Just before sunrise with flowers in shade.
Species: Dune evening primrose, Desert Sunflower, Oenothera deltoides, Geraea canescens
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40273

Spring Wildflowers Bloom in an Colorful Bouquet in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Dune evening primrose (white) is mixed with sand verbena (purple) near Henderson Canyon Road, Spring 2024.
Species: Sand verbena, Abronia villosa
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40274

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: 40302

Dune Evening Primrose with Dew Drops, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California

Dune Evening Primrose with Dew Drops, Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40300

Brown-eyed Primrose Flower with Dew Drops, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Camissonia claviformis, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California

Brown-eyed Primrose Flower with Dew Drops, Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Species: Brown-eyed primrose, Camissonia claviformis
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, California
Image ID: 40301

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: 25248

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: 25266

Lonely road, Death Valley, Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California

Lonely road, Death Valley.
Location: Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25292