Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • In the dry season, water normally knee to waist high is completely absent in the Fakahatchee Strand of Southwest Florida.
    Fakahatchee Strand
  • The eastern part of the Cascades mountains in Washington state couldn't be more different from the western side. Instead of wet, green and cloudy slopes, there are dry, columnar igneous rock structures, desert scrub plants and big skies!
    Basalt Cliffs at White Pass
  • One of many bald eagles actively hunting over Lower Klamath Lake on a sunny late winter day in Northern California.
    Bald Eagle
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • This enormous great horned owl was spotted from almost a quarter-mile away perched in a cottonwood tree next to Lower Klamath Lake in Northern California.
    Great Horned Owl
  • A western pond turtle basks in the sun on a beautiful California day on Lower Klamath Lake near the Oregon border. Listed as a vulnerable/threatened species, these small turtles are slow-growing, often maturing at around 10 years old and are taking a hard hit from invasive bird and animal species - especially bullfrogs and bass.
    Western Pond Turtle
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • Rocky Coulee is one of the many thousands of coulees in the area around Vantage, Washington that is essentially drainage route that hasn't really quite become an official "creek" but can occasionally carry running water with rain or snowmelt. This particular one in Whiskey Mountain area is absolutely beautiful in the springtime with its explosion of wildflowers including balsamroots, bitterroots, hedgehog cacti, lupine, wild onion, larkspur and many more! Also found at various times in the year: bighorn sheep, bears, elk, all kinds of game birds and birds of prey, and even some spawning salmon at the right time of year!
    Down into the Coulee
  • Coulees, hills, ridges and thousands of small creeks are very typical of the vast wild land between Ellensburg, Washington and the mighty Columbia River to the East. This view is facing east from the base of Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Sagebrush Country
  • Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found munching on vegetation at the edge of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
    Muskrat
  • Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found munching on vegetation at the edge of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
    Muskrat
  • Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found munching on vegetation at the edge of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
    Muskrat
  • Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found munching on vegetation at the edge of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
    Muskrat
  • Native to North America, muskrats are semi-aquatic rodents named for their musky smell and rat-like appearance. They are found in most of Canada and the United States, as well as some parts of Northern Mexico where they inhabit extremely variable habitats and altitudes. Muskrats are always associated with wetlands, whether that is a lake, swamp, pond, river, etc. Although the common name contains the word "rat", it is taxonomically just a very large, semi-aquatic vole, and not related to any rat species. This one was found swimming near the shore of Tule Lake in Northern California, near the Oregon border.
    Swimming Muskrat
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • Sea stacks tower above the sitka spruce that line the Pacific coastline of Washington's Rialto Beach and Olympic National Park.
    Sea Stacks and Coastline at Rialto B..gton
  • Double Arch is found in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah and is part of the amazing red alien sandstone landscape that is called the Moab Desert. This area has the largest number of natural stone arches than anywhere else in the world, but what makes this rock formation so unique is that they were both eroded from the very same piece of stone. Most arches are formed from water erosion flowing either within or from the sides of the rock over the millennia, but these two arches were formed from water eroding from the top of the stone, downwards. For this reason they are called pothole arches. Because this photograph was made at the beginning of a sudden storm, you can see the rainwater running down the rock from the top of the arch, and this is the very process that carved these arches to begin with, and that will also eventually one day cause this magnificent national treasure to collapse.
    Double Arch, Moab Desert, Utah
  • This incredible wild and harsh desert near the Mexican town of Sonoyta is deep in the Ajo Mountain range in Southern Pima County, Arizona. Saguaro cacti, gila monsters, rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, a searing sun are staples of this dangerous part of the Sonoran Desert, and there is a long, deep history among the remnants of the Tohono O'odham Nation who thrived here for centuries, and the ancestral Puebloans who created a vibrant culture here before them.
    Diablo Mountains, Arizona
  • Standing at 7,325 ft, Casa Grande (Spanish for "Big House") is the fourth highest peak in Texas' Chisos Mountains and is found in the heart of Big Bend National Park.
    Casa Grande in the High Chisos Mountains
  • Saguaro cacti stand tall as sunset fades in the Puerto Blanco Mountains in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the US-Mexico border in Arizona. Truly one of my favorite places in the Sonoran Desert.
    Sunset in the Puerto Blanco Mountains
  • 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
  • A lone, wind-beaten creosote bush stands solidly at the beginning of a sandstorm in White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico.
    Creosote Bush
  • Clouds over an enormous New Mexican sunny day over White Sands!
    White Sands Desert and Dunes, New Mexico
  • The sun went behind a cloud for a moment in White Sands....
    Sky and Sand - White Sands, New Mexico
  • One of the hardiest of all desert wildflowers... this sand verbena persists when all other plants fail.
    Sand Verbena in White Sands, New Mexico
  • White Sands National Monument: New Mexico.
    Ripples and Clouds
  • Layers of dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands Desert, New Mexico
  • Close-up detail of the sand verbena. This southwestern native wildflower is found in the wild only in Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas.
    Sand Verbena
  • 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
  • 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
  • A bombardier beetle (a type of darkling beetle) stands out in extreme contrast against the sand dunes of White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico, a wild landscape of gypsum sands piled into massive sand dunes.
    Bombardier Beetle
  • 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
  • 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
  • Some of the amazingly beautiful rock formations photographed here at dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    Moab Rock Formations
  • The famous North and South Window arches at 4am on an incredible moonlit night deep in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    North and South Window Arches at Night
  • One of the 2000+ arches found in the Moab Desert in Arches National Park, lit by an extraordinary moon on a hot summer night.
    Moab Desert at Night
  • A waning gibbous moon on a warm summer night in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah at nearly 4am. It was so bright out that I could easily navigate between the cacti and jagged rocks without my flashlight!
    Desert Moon
  • The Palouse River is a somewhat short river in southeastern Washington that joins the Snake River, which in turn joins the mighty Columbia River that forms the border between Washington and Oregon. It is best known for it's magnificent waterfall - Palouse Falls.
    Palouse River
  • The Palouse River is a somewhat short river in southeastern Washington that joins the Snake River, which in turn joins the mighty Columbia River that forms the border between Washington and Oregon. It is best known for it's magnificent waterfall - Palouse Falls.
    Palouse River
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • Eastern Washington's iconic Palouse Falls is a 198-foot waterfall on the Palouse River which empties into the Snake River. These ancient basalt cliffs were created by lava and ground down by massive glaciers.
    Palouse Falls
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • This high plains and mountain-loving member of the rockcress family is found across most of the northern half of North America including all of Canada (excluding Newfoundland and P.E.I.) and nearly all of the northern American states including some southwestern states. Easily recognized by their purple to reddish flowers, this spreadingpod rockcress was found growing in Cowiche Canyon in the eastern foothills of Washington's Cascade Mountains.
    Spreadingpod Rockcress
  • Ancient basalt columns are a typical sight in Central Washington. They are formed by cooling lava, forming cracks that create these columns by contracting. The faster the lava cools, the thinner the columns. These thick columns cooled gradually over some time. The presence of the lichens that now cover the stony face is an indicator of very good air quality and a lack of pollution.
    Lichen-Covered Basalt Cliff in Cowic..nyon
  • Sunset is almost always a dramatic show of light and shadow, as witnessed here in Cowiche Canyon, just west of Yakima, WA. Strong beams of sunlight beautifully backlit these desert wildflowers (Carey's balsamroot).
    Sunset in the Sagebrush Desert
  • This rock was once molten lava forced from deep within the earth as it covered most of Central Washington, up to three miles deep in some places. Many thousands of years of erosion, weathering and exposure to the elements has left us with massive crumbling rock formations like this basalt rock wall.
    Rocky Basalt Bluffs of Cowiche Canyon
  • This tough, woody shrub is common in the most arid regions of the American and Canadian West, and is a member of the rose family. Attractive in the spring when it is overloaded with small yellow flowers, it is often found with balsamroot species in sagebrush desert habitats, and is an important food source for deer. This one was photographed in Central Washington in Kittitas County near the Columbia River.
    Antelope Bitterbrush
  • Rolling arid hills and miles upon miles of aromatic sagebrush, crumbled basalt rocks and heat in this desert-like landscape in Central Washington near Vantage, WA.
    Sagebrush Country
  • One of the best things about the Pacific Northwest on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains is the big, open sky and hundreds of miles of sagebrush in all directions.
    Sagebrush Country and the Big Sky
  • A view of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, looking westward towards the Hexie Mountains with a tall cactus-like ocotillo in full bloom in the foreground.
    Mojave Desert with Ocotillo
  • This very attractive milkvetch was growing in the near the top of a hill in the desert canyonlands of Southern Utah on a chilly spring afternoon.
    Thompson's Woolly Locoweed
  • This very local native member of the pea family was photographed on the side of the road in the desert in a very rural part of central-southern Utah.
    Thompson's Woolly Locoweed
  • An old, twisted pinyon tree grows atop the windy rocks at the top of a huge rock formation in a nameless canyon in southwestern Utah. It's amazing how the roots of these tenacious pines hold the rock with an iron grip as they endure summer's blistering heat, winter's bitterly unforgiving cold, and near constant wind decade after decade.
    The Old Pinyon Tree
  • Mount Spry and East Temple are two of the landmark rock formations of Zion National Park in southwestern Utah. On this warm late spring afternoon, the snow is gone and the sun is shining on a spectacularly clear day.
    Mount Spry and East Temple
  • Nevada's Valley of Fire is one of the most spectacular places in the United States. Unbelievably red sandstone canyons, rock formations and rare habitat-specific wildlife make for one of the very best places for a hike or hiking trip one could hope for.
    Into the Valley of Fire
  • Nevada's Valley of Fire is one of the most spectacular places in the United States. Unbelievably red sandstone canyons, rock formations and rare habitat-specific wildlife make for one of the very best places for a hike or hiking trip one could hope for.
    Into Valley of Fire - Black & White
  • The American Southwest is well-known for its incredible rock formations that come in ever size, shape and color. Elephant Rock is one of these rock formations that is found in Nevada's oldest state park - Valley of Fire State Park.
    Elephant Rock
  • A western pond turtle basks in the sun on a beautiful California day on Lower Klamath Lake near the Oregon border. Listed as a vulnerable/threatened species, these small turtles are slow-growing, often maturing at around 10 years old and are taking a hard hit from invasive bird and animal species - especially bullfrogs and bass.
    Western Pond Turtle
  • Coulees, hills, ridges and thousands of small creeks are very typical of the vast wild land between Ellensburg, Washington and the mighty Columbia River to the East. This view is facing east from the base of Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Sagebrush Country
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Golden hour near the Ajo Mountains in the Sonoran Desert! Big skies, lowlands filled with saguaro and organ pipe cacti, and loads of wildlife and incredible wildflowers - springtime in Arizona is about as beautiful as nature gets!
    Ajo Mountains
  • View of the desert dunes, valleys and sky at New Mexico's White Sands National Monument.
    White Sands Dunes and Sky, 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
  • White Sands National Monument and the snowy peak of Sierra Blanca in the distance.
    Hot Deserts and Snowy Peaks
  • The wonderous rock formations of Utah's Arches National Park look even more spectacular on a wildly moonlit night in the Moab Desert.
    Moab Desert in Moonlight
  • Balanced Rock silhouetted against the moonlit sky on an extraordinary night in the Moab Desert at about 4am in Eastern Utah.
    Balanced Rock in Silhouette at Night
  • Long exposure of balanced rock in Arches National Park in Utah's Moab Desert lit entirely by moonlight.
    Balanced Rock at Night
  • The Palouse River is a somewhat short river in southeastern Washington that joins the Snake River, which in turn joins the mighty Columbia River that forms the border between Washington and Oregon. It is best known for it's magnificent waterfall - Palouse Falls.
    Palouse River
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • Holboell's rockcress is a very common member of the mustard family found across most of the American west and all of Canada, excluding the Maritime provinces. It is eaily recognized by drooping white or pink flowers and fruits. These were photographed in Central Washington just outside of Yakima.
    Holboell's Rockcress
  • This tiny daisy grows in many of the hottest, most arid deserts of the American Southwest in sand, gravel and scattered rocks. Easily identified by both it's dimunitative size and choice of habitat, close inspection of the foliage reveals a very wooly, hairy hovering of silvery hairs on the leaves and stem. This was one of many found in an open area in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Wallace's Woolly Daisy
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
  • The giant helleborine orchid (Epipactis gigantea), also commonly known as the stream orchid and even chatterbox is found sporadically throughout the western half of the United States, with a northerly range just barely reaching into Southern British Columbia. It is also the only helleborine native to North America.  Nearly always found in wetlands in a highly variable range of habitats from conifer forests to sagebrush deserts, it also seems to tolerate a wide range of soils. These were found just south the Dry Falls area of Washington's Grant County in multiple places in the Sun Lakes, just at the edge of the water. On this day more than five thousand orchids were in bloom on a scorching hot spring day, most of them (but not all) sheltered by cottonwoods.
    Giant Helleborine Orchid (Epipactis ..tea)
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