Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Close-up of the desert broomrape, showing off the beautiful and unusual hairy flowers. Because it doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful parasitic plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • Because the parasitic desert broomrape doesn't use chlorophyll like most all plants to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food, it doesn't need to be green. Instead, this oddly beautiful plant steals nutrients from neighboring plants and has a rather fond taste for asters, such as the sunflowers are common in the desert. This one was found growing in Western Texas near the Rio Grande River.
    Desert Broomrape
  • Quite a lucky find! While flipping over rocks searching for scorpions in northwestern Texas I chanced upon a (possibly brand new) desert subterranean termite colony. Normally found deep underground, under the rock I found the big queen termite, the king termite similar-looking but much smaller, and a number of worker termites. Hazarding a somewhat educated guess I'm going to say that these belong to the native Reticulitermes genus - a beneficial species that takes the role of fungus and algae in breaking down plant and wood material in the most arid of deserts where fungi and algae can't survive.
    Desert Subterranean Termites
  • Clouds over an enormous New Mexican sunny day over White Sands!
    White Sands Desert and Dunes, New Mexico
  • Layers of dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands Desert, New Mexico
  • Layers of a valley, dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands Desert, New Mexico
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya in the Chihuahuan ..sert
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • A common yucca of the Chihuahuan desert, the soapweed yucca is and was a significantly important plant for the Native American tribes inhabiting the area where it is found. A common yucca of the Chihuahuan desert, the soapweed yucca's fibrous leaves were used use to make belts, cloth, baskets, cords and mats, the roots were used to make a natural soap - hence the common name.
    Soaptree Yucca
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • Cerro Castellan - also known as Castolon Peak or Castellan Peak, is a conical volcanic mountain in West Texas that rises 1000 feet above the desert floor (3,293 feet above sea level) in Big Bend National Park. Cerro Castellan itself is part of an ancient series of summits once known as the Corazones Peaks that has since succumbed to millennia of erosion by wind, precipitation, searing heat and bitterly cold winters. <br />
Geologically, this ancient mountain range remnant is a high stack of volcanic rocks, including ash, lava, and tuffaceous rocks. It is capped by a dense lava flow underlain by various tuffs and basalts. A somewhat northwest fault cuts the eastern face of Cerro Castellan. Although little vegetation grows on the sheer cliffs and steep, pointed profile of its peak, the lower slopes of Cerro Castellan support a sparse growth of Chihuahuan Desert scrub, including most prominently such characteristic species as creosote bush and ocotillo.
    Cerro Castellan
  • Easily one of the coolest plants to be found in the Chihuahuan desert, and goes by a long list of common names, such as the Rose of Jericho, resurrection plant,  dinosaur plant, siempre viva, stone flower, doradilla, resurrection flower and many more. This attractive member of the spikemoss family looks almost like a lush, green fern during the rainy season in its native habitat of Northern Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, but during dry spells, it desiccates into a brown dormant ball that looks like a tumbleweed, only to rehydrate back to bright, vibrant green after it rains again. These were found in abundance after the springtime rains in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Resurrection Moss
  • Cerro Castellan - also known as Castolon Peak or Castellan Peak, is a conical volcanic mountain in West Texas that rises 1000 feet above the desert floor (3,293 feet above sea level) in Big Bend National Park. Cerro Castellan itself is part of an ancient series of summits once known as the Corazones Peaks that has since succumbed to millennia of erosion by wind, precipitation, searing heat and bitterly cold winters. <br />
Geologically, this ancient mountain range remnant is a high stack of volcanic rocks, including ash, lava, and tuffaceous rocks. It is capped by a dense lava flow underlain by various tuffs and basalts. A somewhat northwest fault cuts the eastern face of Cerro Castellan. Although little vegetation grows on the sheer cliffs and steep, pointed profile of its peak, the lower slopes of Cerro Castellan support a sparse growth of Chihuahuan Desert scrub, including most prominently such characteristic species as creosote bush and ocotillo.
    Cerro Castellan
  • Cerro Castellan - also known as Castolon Peak or Castellan Peak, is a conical volcanic mountain in West Texas that rises 1000 feet above the desert floor (3,293 feet above sea level) in Big Bend National Park. Cerro Castellan itself is part of an ancient series of summits once known as the Corazones Peaks that has since succumbed to millennia of erosion by wind, precipitation, searing heat and bitterly cold winters. <br />
Geologically, this ancient mountain range remnant is a high stack of volcanic rocks, including ash, lava, and tuffaceous rocks. It is capped by a dense lava flow underlain by various tuffs and basalts. A somewhat northwest fault cuts the eastern face of Cerro Castellan. Although little vegetation grows on the sheer cliffs and steep, pointed profile of its peak, the lower slopes of Cerro Castellan support a sparse growth of Chihuahuan Desert scrub, including most prominently such characteristic species as creosote bush and ocotillo.
    Cerro Castellan
  • There are a surprising number of ferns that grow in some of the hottest deserts in the American Southwest, and the wavy scaly cloak fern is one of them. This extremely hardy fern is  from the Chihuahuan Desert grows in rocky substrates in Northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and surprisingly in parts of Georgia as well. This one was growing in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Wavy Scaly Cloak Fern
  • Easily one of the coolest plants to be found in the Chihuahuan desert, and goes by a long list of common names, such as the Rose of Jericho, resurrection plant,  dinosaur plant, siempre viva, stone flower, doradilla, resurrection flower and many more. This attractive member of the spikemoss family looks almost like a lush, green fern during the rainy season in its native habitat of Northern Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, but during dry spells, it desiccates into a brown dormant ball that looks like a tumbleweed, only to rehydrate back to bright, vibrant green after it rains again. These were found in abundance after the springtime rains in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Resurrection Moss
  • It might be strange to think that you can find wild ferns growing out in the desert, but there are in fact many types of ferns found out in the driest of habitats. This beautiful star cloak fern photographed in the Quitman Mountains of West Texas has recently had access to water (via rain). In times of drought and extreme heat, these leaves will curl up and the plant will become dormant until it rains again. Somewhat common throughout the Chihuahuan Desert of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, they are most often found under the north side of rocks and boulders where they can get the most shade and moisture.
    Star Cloak Fern
  • Cerro Castellan - also known as Castolon Peak or Castellan Peak, is a conical volcanic mountain in West Texas that rises 1000 feet above the desert floor (3,293 feet above sea level) in Big Bend National Park. Cerro Castellan itself is part of an ancient series of summits once known as the Corazones Peaks that has since succumbed to millennia of erosion by wind, precipitation, searing heat and bitterly cold winters. <br />
Geologically, this ancient mountain range remnant is a high stack of volcanic rocks, including ash, lava, and tuffaceous rocks. It is capped by a dense lava flow underlain by various tuffs and basalts. A somewhat northwest fault cuts the eastern face of Cerro Castellan. Although little vegetation grows on the sheer cliffs and steep, pointed profile of its peak, the lower slopes of Cerro Castellan support a sparse growth of Chihuahuan Desert scrub, including most prominently such characteristic species as creosote bush and ocotillo.
    Cerro Castellan
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • Easily one of the coolest plants to be found in the Chihuahuan desert, and goes by a long list of common names, such as the Rose of Jericho, resurrection plant,  dinosaur plant, siempre viva, stone flower, doradilla, resurrection flower and many more. This attractive member of the spikemoss family looks almost like a lush, green fern during the rainy season in its native habitat of Northern Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, but during dry spells, it desiccates into a brown dormant ball that looks like a tumbleweed, only to rehydrate back to bright, vibrant green after it rains again. These were found in abundance after the springtime rains in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Resurrection Moss
  • Easily one of the coolest plants to be found in the Chihuahuan desert, and goes by a long list of common names, such as the Rose of Jericho, resurrection plant,  dinosaur plant, siempre viva, stone flower, doradilla, resurrection flower and many more. This attractive member of the spikemoss family looks almost like a lush, green fern during the rainy season in its native habitat of Northern Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, but during dry spells, it desiccates into a brown dormant ball that looks like a tumbleweed, only to rehydrate back to bright, vibrant green after it rains again. These were found in abundance after the springtime rains in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Resurrection Moss
  • The Chisos Mountains of West Texas is the southernmost mountain range in the United States, and is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert on the US-Mexico border. Located wholly within the borders of Big Bend National Park, this incredible view of this ancient volcanic mountain range was photographed on a late spring afternoon as the sun began to set in the "golden hour".
    Chisos Mountains of West Texas
  • There are a surprising number of ferns that grow in some of the hottest deserts in the American Southwest, and the wavy scaly cloak fern is one of them. This extremely hardy fern is  from the Chihuahuan Desert grows in rocky substrates in Northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and surprisingly in parts of Georgia as well. This one was growing in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Wavy Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • Close-up of a beautiful curious eastern collared lizard in Northwestern Texas as she scrambles across the Guadalupe Mountains in search insects, spiders and scorpions in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Eastern Collared Lizard
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This attractive desert fern is found across much of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of the United States and Mexico and is easy to recognize by the simple pinnae or leaflets with the coppery-colored stem and undersides of the leaves. Both the tops and bottoms of the leaves are covered in tiny scales. Reportedly toxic to sheep, this and many other ferns like it were found in abundance in the Big Bend National Park of West Texas.
    Cochise Scaly Cloak Fern
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • This delicate little pteridophyte desert fern was found growing from the shade under a massive pile of boulders in the Chihuahuan Desert at the far eastern limit of its range near the Texas-Chihuahua border just south of El Paso in the Quitman Mountains. It is most often found on cliffs and shady overhangs throughout most of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.
    Spiny Cliffbrake
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • Common in lower elevations of western/southwestern Texas and much of Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, this is the only native prickly pear in the region without long spines. Instead, brown hair-like glochids grow in the areoles, which if touched, can be quite painful and difficult to remove. This one was  photographed just north and below the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas.
    Blind Prickly Pear
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • Common in lower elevations of western/southwestern Texas and much of Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, this is the only native prickly pear in the region without long spines. Instead, brown hair-like glochids grow in the areoles, which if touched, can be quite painful and difficult to remove. This one was  photographed just north and below the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas.
    Blind Prickly Pear
  • Also known by other other common names such as the devil's-head cactus and horse crippler, this small, extremely slow-growing native cactus of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts is found in Southern Arizona and New Mexico, Western Texas and can be found in the wild as far south as Mexico City. This cylindrical cactus is usually found alone, rather than in clusters and is believed to live to 75-100 years! The dense, wooly-haired mass at the top of this eagle claw cactus will produce a large 2-3 inch pink flower by the end of each summer. This particular cactus was found and photographed in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County in Western Texas in mid-April.
    Eagle Claw Cactus
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • The Texas rainbow cactus usually has a single stem, but may branch when older. Large yellow flowers bloom in the spring from the upper portions of the stem. The stem may have bands of tan, reddish or brown spines, giving it a rainbow appearance. This one was found and photographed in West Texas in the Chihuahuan Desert lowlands just north of the Chisos Mountains.
    Texas Rainbow Cactus
  • This beautiful thick, cylindrical cactus found here in Big Bend National Park in West Texas is a species with dozens of common names such as: straw-colored hedgehog, pitaya, alicoche, green strawberry hedgehog cactus, etc. It is found natively in the Chihuahuan Desert close to the Rio Grande, specifically in west and south Texas, Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico, as well as in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora. Recent spring rains have caused these plants to swell up with stored rainwater.
    Cob Cactus
  • Also known by other other common names such as the devil's-head cactus and horse crippler, this small, extremely slow-growing native cactus of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts is found in Southern Arizona and New Mexico, Western Texas and can be found in the wild as far south as Mexico City. This cylindrical cactus is usually found alone, rather than in clusters and is believed to live to 75-100 years! The dense, wooly-haired mass at the top of this eagle claw cactus will produce a large 2-3 inch pink flower by the end of each summer. This particular cactus was found and photographed in Big Bend National Park in Brewster County in Western Texas in mid-April.
    Eagle Claw Cactus
  • The Texas rainbow cactus usually has a single stem, but may branch when older. Large yellow flowers bloom in the spring from the upper portions of the stem. The stem may have bands of tan, reddish or brown spines, giving it a rainbow appearance. This one was found and photographed in West Texas in the Chihuahuan Desert lowlands just north of the Chisos Mountains.
    Texas Rainbow Cactus
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed literally at the edge of town in Van Horn, West Texas - where civilization meets the harsh and brutal Chihuahuan Desert.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This delicate little pteridophyte desert fern was found growing from the shade under a massive pile of boulders in the Chihuahuan Desert at the far eastern limit of its range near the Texas-Chihuahua border just south of El Paso in the Quitman Mountains. It is most often found on cliffs and shady overhangs throughout most of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.
    Spiny Cliffbrake
  • Easily North America's most common scorpion, the striped bark scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) is a medium-sized species found across most of the southern states and many of the states in Mexico. Perhaps one of the reasons for its geographical success is the fact that it can thrive in an amazing variety of habitats. It is found in deserts, grasslands, coniferous forests, deciduous forests and is found living under tree bark, rocks and any other suitable environment it can find. Unfortunately this is where it often is found among human habitation. Painful yet mostly harmless, this scorpion is not considered dangerous, unless you are a cricket, beetle or some other such small prey. This one was photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert's Guadalupe Mountains in NW Texas near the New Mexico border.
    Striped Bark Scorpion
  • This beautiful medium-sized agave is found in the Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, Texas and Northern Mexico and has wide green-grey leaves with uneven sharp serrations. Found in variable habitats such as desert scrub to pinyon woodlands, this group was found in the Guadalupe Mountains in NW Texas near the New Mexico border.
    Slimfoot Century Plant
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed literally at the edge of town in Van Horn, West Texas - where civilization meets the harsh and brutal Chihuahuan Desert.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed literally at the edge of town in Van Horn, West Texas - where civilization meets the harsh and brutal Chihuahuan Desert.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed literally at the edge of town in Van Horn, West Texas - where civilization meets the harsh and brutal Chihuahuan Desert.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert in rural Socorro County, New Mexico while I was searching to horned lizards.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This wonderfully attractive one-inch, desert-loving daisy is found throughout much of the American Southwest where it blooms year-round as long as it doesn't come in contact with frost. Best seen in the morning hours, this local member of the aster family begins to droop in the midday heat. Want to know something amazing about this particular flower? It smells just like chocolate! These were photographed literally at the edge of town in Van Horn, West Texas - where civilization meets the harsh and brutal Chihuahuan Desert.
    Chocolate Daisy
  • Once an ancient Permian ocean reef, these hills and cliffs that are part of the Guadalupe Mountains in Northwestern Texas near Salt Flat are an example of one the world's very best and oldest fossilized coral reefs. Now part of the Chihuahuan Desert the area is teeming with sea life fossils.
    McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe M..ains
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • Found primarily in the arid regions of Texas and Northern Mexico, this huge slate millipede is also known as the Chihuahuan millipede. I found by this one by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Slate Millipede (Comanchelus chihuanus)
  • Found primarily in the arid regions of Texas and Northern Mexico, this huge slate millipede is also known as the Chihuahuan millipede. I found by this one by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Slate Millipede (Comanchelus chihuanus)
  • Found primarily in the arid regions of Texas and Northern Mexico, this huge slate millipede is also known as the Chihuahuan millipede. I found by this one by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Slate Millipede (Comanchelus chihuanus)
  • Found primarily in the arid regions of Texas and Northern Mexico, this huge slate millipede is also known as the Chihuahuan millipede. I found by this one by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Slate Millipede (Comanchelus chihuanus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This stunningly red relative of the firefly, the bloody net-winged beetle uses aposematic coloration (warning colors) to its advantage. The bright red and black coloration/pattern is a strong warning to others that might want to eat it that it is toxic to eat and best left alone. This one was photographed just as it landed on a desert shrub below the Chisos Mountains in West Texas, near the Rio Grande River.
    Bloody Net-winged Beetle
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • The sand verbena (sometimes also called the purple or pink sand verbena) is a very hardy, heat-resistant desert survivor in the American Southwest. Not many plants survive in the gypsum sands desert of White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico with its shifting dunes, but this one does just fine.
    Sand Verbena
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world). This beautiful member of the Phrynosomatid lizard family has evolved white scales to enable it to blend in with the white gypsum sands. I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't moved.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • One of the hardiest of all desert wildflowers... this sand verbena persists when all other plants fail.
    Sand Verbena in White Sands, New Mexico
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • One of the many great rock formations in the Chisos Mountains in Western Texas' Big Bend National Park and is known as the "Mule Ear Peaks." These twin peaks  are formed from a part of a dike-like intrusion of relatively young rhyolite, and rise about 1040 feet (3,881 above sea level) above the desert floor.
    Mules Ears
  • El Capitan in West Texas' Guadalupe Mountains (100 miles east of El Paso) is the world's premier example of an exposed fossil reef from the Permian Era, dated at about 260 million years old - much older than the golden age of dinosaurs. This whole part of Texas back in this time was once covered in a shallow sea that geologists call the Delaware Sea, in a time when all of Earth's continents were still joined into one supercontinent that we call Pangaea. The entire top of El Capitan is made of limestone formed from the fossilized remains of aquatic plant and animal remains such as corals, algae, shellfish and plankton, and now stands at just above 8000 feet above sea level. The base is formed by layer upon layer of sand laid down over millions of years, in the manner you would expect from the ocean floor resulting in a very typical sedimentary rock formation,  further eroded by millions of years of desert heat, rain, abrasion and wind.
    El Capitan, West Texas
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