National Parks

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Lembert Dome, Yosemite National Park

Lembert Dome rises above Tuolumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite National Park. The hike to the summit of Lembert Dome is easy and leads through a forest of trees before emerging on the backside of the dome, and offers expansive view of the entire Tuolumne Meadows from the…

Phil CollaSeptember 17, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Yellowstone Falls from Lookout Point, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 6 Yellowstone Falls marks the point at which the Yellowstone River plunges 308 feet into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It is a spectacular waterfall, one of the highlights Yellowstone National Park. (Actually, there are two falls, Upper Yellowstone Falls and Lower Yellowstone Falls, within a…

Phil CollaSeptember 16, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Gibbon Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 5 Gibbon Falls, on the Gibbon River between Madison Junction and Norris Geyser Basin, is one of the most stunning waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park. Gibbon Falls marks the point at which the Gibbon River flows off Yellowstone's northern escarpment and drops into the Park's lower volcanic…

Phil CollaSeptember 15, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 4 Castle Geyser is, after Old Faithful Geyser, perhaps the most-viewed of the large predictable geysers in Yellowstone National Park. Castle Geyser is a short, easy walk from the Old Faithful Inn, and is well predicted with intervals of about 10 hours. Since Castle Geyser stands in…

Phil CollaSeptember 14, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Grand Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 4 Grand Geyser is one of tallest geysers in the world, and the tallest predictable one. It is amazing, reaching heights of 200' and often erupting simultaneously with Vent Geyser and Turban Geyser, both of which are very near to Grand Geyser and are connected to it…

Phil CollaSeptember 13, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Lion Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 4 Lion Geyser, in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park along the Geyser Hill boardwalk, was a lucky happenstance for me. Lion Geyser, part of the Lion Group which includes a few other geysers, is difficult to observe since it is not one of geysers…

Phil CollaSeptember 12, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Riverside Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 3 Riverside Geyser is our favorite geyser in Yellowstone National Park. Riverside Geyser lies right at the edge of the Firehole River. It is a cone-type geyser with a tight, hose-like flow angling out over the river and reaching heights of 80' or more. Low afternoon light…

Phil CollaSeptember 11, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Daisy Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 3 Daisy Geyser is one of the most accessible and impressive geysers in Yellowstone National Park. Daisy Geyser is in the Upper Geyser Basin and is reached by an easy paved foot and bike path from the Old Faithful Inn area. The park rangers include Daisy Geyser…

Phil CollaSeptember 10, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Pink Cone Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 3 Pink Cone Geyser lies along Firehole Lake Drive in the Lower Geyser Basin area of Yellowstone National Park, between White Dome Geyser and Firehole Lake, on the left as you drive along. Pink Cone Geyser is a small cone-type geyser whose eruptions, though widely spaced at…

Phil CollaSeptember 9, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of White Dome Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 White Dome Geyser lies along Firehole Lake Drive in the Lower Geyser Basin area of Yellowstone National Park. White Dome Geyser is a cone-type geyser whose eruption, through a narrow opening of about 6 inches, reaches heights of 30' (10m). It erupts relatively frequently -- sometimes…

Phil CollaSeptember 8, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is an enormous and colorful example of thriving thermophilic bacteria. The temperature of the water in Grand Prismatic Spring cools as it moves outward from the spring's center. Different species of thermophilic bacteria occupy different areas of the spring…

Phil CollaSeptember 7, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Lewis Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 Lewis Falls is between the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park and Grant Village, just before Lewis Lake. A short trail ends near the 30-foot falls, but to view the falls from the riverside one must leave the trail and hop down an embankment. Lewis Falls…

Phil CollaSeptember 6, 2005

National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Moose Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 Moose Falls is at the southern edge of Yellowstone National Park, just inside the south entrance for visitors arriving from Grand Teton National Park. The falls are just a few yards off the highway, indicated by a small sign and a turnout for parking. They are…

Phil CollaSeptember 4, 2005

Grand Teton National Parks Wyoming

Photo of a Moose, Grand Teton National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 This mother and calf moose pair was spotted walking and grazing among grasses and shrubs along Christian Creek at the north end of Grand Teton National Park. Spending an hour watching them was the highlight of my time in Grand Teton this summer. Mother moose grazes…

Phil CollaSeptember 3, 2005

Grand Teton National Parks Wyoming

Photo of Oxbow Bend, Snake River and Mount Moran, Grand Teton National Park

Road Trip: Day 2 Oxbow Bend is perhaps the most convenient -- and most photographed -- spot in Grand Teton National Park -- and for good reason. It offers a pleasing composition of Mount Moran in the distance with a sweep of the Oxbow Bend section of the Snake River…

Phil CollaSeptember 2, 2005

Grand Teton National Parks Wyoming

Photo of Wildflowers, Bridger-Teton National Forest

Road Trip: Day 1 Most attention in Grand Teton National Park is focused on the Tetons themselves and the west side of the park. However, on my most recent trip to the Tetons I took a drive out of Grand Teton National Park and up into the Bridger-Teton National Forest…

Phil CollaAugust 31, 2005

Grand Teton National Parks Wyoming

Photo of the Mormon Row Barns, Grand Teton National Park

Road Trip: Day 1 The Mormon Row barns are popular with photographers in the southern part of Grand Teton National Park. The conventional wisdom is to shoot this area in the morning, with warm light on the barns and low, front light on the Tetons in the background. However, I've…

Phil CollaAugust 30, 2005

Grand Teton National Parks Wyoming

Photo of Schwabacher’s Landing, Grand Teton National Park

Road Trip: Day 1 Schwabacher's Landing, in the southern part of Grand Teton National Park, is a great spot for morning photographs of the Cathedral Group (Grand Teton and Mounts Owen and Teewinot) reflected in a sidewater of the Snake River. Driving north from Jackson on the Jackson Hole Highway,…

Phil CollaAugust 29, 2005

California Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photos of Yosemite Falls in Spring

Falling 2425 feet (730m) in three sections, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth tallest in the world. During winter, a cone of frozen mist forms at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. A strenuous hike takes visitors from the valley floor to the precipice…

Phil CollaMay 26, 2005

Landscape National Parks Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photo of Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park

Spring is the time to visit Vernal Falls and the famous Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park. Vernal Falls is at peak flow in late May and June, the weather is usually pleasant and the dogwoods are in bloom on the valley floor. We try to make a springtime visit…

Phil CollaMay 23, 2005

National Parks The American Southwest Utah Zion

Waterfalls at Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park

On a recent visit to Utah I had a chance to spend some time in Zion National Park. A number of ephemeral waterfalls were flowing, the result of rainstorms that had passed over Zion Canyon a few days before. The Temple of Sinawava, a widening in Zion Canyon at the…

Phil CollaMay 2, 2005

Icons National Parks Wyoming Yellowstone

Photo of Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park is such an icon that photos of it have become cliche. It is the most accessible and watched of all the geysers in the park. However, it is still a wonderful sight to behold regardless of how many people have seen it before…

Phil CollaMarch 10, 2005

California Landscape Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Photos of Glacial Erratic Boulders in Yosemite National Park

Above the granite walls surrounding Yosemite Valley are found many examples of glacial erratic boulders. These glacial erratics are so named because they are erratic (i.e., differ materially from the naturally occuring stone nearby) and they were deposited by slow-moving glaciers, sometimes after having been moved a considerable distance (e.g.,…

Phil CollaFebruary 26, 2005

California Landscape Panoramas Sierra Nevada Yosemite

Panoramic Photo of Half Dome and Washington Column from Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Valley offers panoramic views that, in many cases, cannot be effectively captured with a single photograph (a frame of film or a single digital image capture). Stitching photographs together digitally offers a way to produce panoramic images using non-panoramic cameras. Below is an example of this technique, considering Half…

Phil CollaFebruary 25, 2005

Kings Canyon / Sequoia Sierra Nevada Trees

Photos of Sequoia Trees, Kings Canyon National Park

This is a stand of giant Sequioa trees, Sequoiadendron giganteum, in Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park, California. The United State Postal Service recently licensed this image as artist reference to create a painting version of the photo for a postage stamp and associated paper and philatelic (stamp collecting) products.…

Phil CollaFebruary 9, 2005

Photo of Lembert Dome, Yosemite National Park

Photo of Yellowstone Falls from Lookout Point, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Gibbon Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Grand Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Lion Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Riverside Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Daisy Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Pink Cone Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of White Dome Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Lewis Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of Moose Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Photo of a Moose, Grand Teton National Park

Photo of Oxbow Bend, Snake River and Mount Moran, Grand Teton National Park

Photo of Wildflowers, Bridger-Teton National Forest

Photo of the Mormon Row Barns, Grand Teton National Park

Photo of Schwabacher’s Landing, Grand Teton National Park

Photos of Yosemite Falls in Spring

Photo of Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park

Waterfalls at Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park

Photo of Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

Photos of Glacial Erratic Boulders in Yosemite National Park

Panoramic Photo of Half Dome and Washington Column from Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite Valley

Photos of Sequoia Trees, Kings Canyon National Park

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