Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • 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
  • Snail Rock with a lone bald eagle perched on top on the Makah Indian Reservation near Neah Bay, Washington. This huge rock stands in the Strait of Juan de Fuca which separates Washington State from British Columbia, Canada (which you can clearly see in the background). When the tide is lower, more exposed rock on either side of it (where the surf is) makes it look like a giant snail!
    Snail Rock
  • Tillamook Rock Lighthouse on Northern Oregon's Pacific Coastline.
    Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
  • 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
  • Some of the amazingly beautiful rock formations photographed here at dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah.
    Moab Rock Formations
  • Standing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Seal Rock is a favorite resting place for various species of seals, sea lions and seabirds on the on the Makah Indian Reservation near the Northwestern tip of Washington State.
    Seal Rock
  • An incredible fiery sunset on a rare sunny winter evening on Oregon's Tillamook Head - just north of Cannon Beach.
    Sunset on Sea Lion Rock, Oregon
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • This whole area was once an ancient shallow sea. These towering buttes of sandstone are all that remain after the surrounding rock and land were washed away by climate change. The rocks are still loaded with fossils of fish and seashells. Marine dinosaur skeletons have been found in region too!
    West Pawnee Butte
  • One of the many great rock formations in the Chiso 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
  • The Oregon Coast is renowned for its natural beauty, sea stacks, and gorgeous sunsets. I caught this rock formation in the late afternoon "golden light" and focused on the interplay between light and shadow.
    Oregon Sea Stacks in Golden Light
  • The Devil's Backbone juts out into the Pacific Ocean on the Southern Oregon Coast making a shallow protected cove and sandy beach. It seems that just about every mile along this coastline has jaw-dropping views and  rock formations (called sea stacks), even if the weather is just a little bit hazy, like this day was.
    Devil's Backbone, Oregon Coast
  • 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
  • This whole area was once an ancient shallow sea. These towering buttes of sandstone are all that remain after the surrounding rock and land were washed away by climate change. The rocks are still loaded with fossils of fish and seashells. Marine dinosaur skeletons have been found in region too!
    West Pawnee Butte
  • This whole area was once an ancient shallow sea. These towering buttes of sandstone are all that remain after the surrounding rock and land were washed away by climate change. The rocks are still loaded with fossils of fish and seashells. Marine dinosaur skeletons have been found in region too!
    West Pawnee Butte
  • 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
  • As the vastness of the open Canadian prairies butt into the Rocky Mountains, vastly different habitats converge, resulting in an enormous amount of variety in both flora and fauna. Weather patterns are disrupted when open plains meet up with towering rocky towers of rock, which means more rainfall, resulting in mountain erosion giving minerals, shade and shelter that promotes the growth of thick rich forests that teem with wildlife. Such a place is seen here in Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta, Canada on a spectacular summer sunset over a marsh.
    Where the Canadian Prairies Meet the..kies
  • Massive panoramic view of Southern Utah's Bryce Canyon with its hundreds upon hundreds of hoodoos and other wild sandstone rock formations. In fact - while every continent on Earth has these hoodoos, nowhere in the world has as many as there are right here, in Bryce Canyon National Park! This massive print is at full natural size a whopping 9.75 feet x 3.6 feet (3m x 1.1m) and was created from twelve images. So large in fact that you can see the individual branches on every tree!
    Bryce Canyon Panorama
  • A yellow-bellied marmot stands guard on its rock in a field near Aspen, Colorado in the White River National Forest. The shrill whistle they send out as an intruder warning to other nearby marmots in the area is why these relatives of ground squirrels are often called whistle pigs.
    Yellow-Bellied Marmot
  • The Valley of Fire in Southern Nevada is home to some of the most spectacular rock formations in the United States.
    Valley of Fire
  • At least two types of crustose lichens cover this rock near Lake Wenatchee in Washington's Cascade Mountains.
    Crustose Lichens
  • This massive rock on Oregon's Cannon Beach is one of the world's biggest sea stacks. This one was photographed just at the perfect moment of low tide, sunset and as a storm was coming in at full speed!
    Haystack Rock
  • 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
  • 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
  • A rare and strange formation of coquina rocks on Florida's Atlantic coast at Washington Oaks. The sky was overcast that morning and was perfect for shooting crashing waves!
    Florida's Rocky Coast
  • California sea lions and Steller's sea lions share space and safety as a storm rolls in on Oregon's Simpson Reef in Coos County. These huge marine mammals will regularly group together in bad weather and take shelter on the numerous rocks found just off the beach all along the West Coast of North America. The lighter brown sea lions are the Steller's sea lions which are on the endangered species list, while the dark brown sea lions are the common California sea lions.
    Sea Lion Colony
  • Springtime means lots of melting snow in the Cascade Mountains to the west, and can be an exciting time to watch the explosive, often-violent and icy whitewater rapids as gravity forces water over submerged rocks and knocked-down trees. Here banks reach their ultimate capacity at Cowiche Creek in Yakima County, WA.
    Cowiche Creek
  • Amazing rock formations at the Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island, Florida. This limestone rock wall is an exposed ancient coral reef that gets pounded by the Atlantic Ocean incessantly.
    Blowing Rocks Preserve 1
  • 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
  • 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
  • A male stella orangetip butterfly feeds on the nectar of blooming wax currants in Central Oregon near Bend. This is a subspecies of the in the sara orangetip complex, and is mostly found in the Pacific Northwest east of the Cascades where the habitat is much more arid and dry.
    Male Stella Orangetip
  • Four of the many peaks in the Grand Tetons, from left to right - Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot. These stunning snowy mountains are found just south of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
    Grand Teton National Park
  • The southernmost mountain range in the United States is the Chisos Mountains and are found in West Texas, completely surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert. This ancient volcanic mountain range is found completely with the borders of Big Bend National Park along the US-Mexico border. This incredible view was photographed on a late spring afternoon as the sun began to set in the "golden hour".
    Chisos Mountains of West Texas
  • Sol Duc Falls (pronounced “Soul Duck”) is one of many hundreds of waterfalls found in the Olympic Peninsula’s temperate rain forest in Washington State, and also one of the most beautiful. Somewhat isolated, and off the regular beaten path of most day-hikers (except for locals) and tourists this raging waterfall can be visited year round. The Sol Duc River gets its name from the Quileute (also spelled Quillayute) word roughly translated as “magic waters.”
    Sol Duc Falls
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Mouse-like in appearance, the American pika is a relative of rabbits and hares and is not a rodent. This one on Mount Rainier remained alert with the occasional surprisingly loud bark that is meant as an "intruder alert" alarm for other members of the colony. At least two different individuals were taking turns as I wound my way through the rocky trail across their home territory.
    American Pika
  • An American pika stands guard over its rocky scree near Lake Mowich on Mount Rainier. Like most of these rabbit-relatives, pikas send out a loud, barking warning to let others know that a potential threat has wandered into their territory.
    American Pika
  • A perfect combination of low tide, the last rays of sunlight, and a spectacular  location made for a very satisfying photograph with rippled sand and ultra-vivid colors as I waited out the sunset on Washington's Ruby Beach in the Olympic National Park on the Pacific Ocean.
    Ruby Beach at Last Light
  • Very early on a chilly fall morning, just before sunrise on the Olympic Peninsula's Rialto Beach on Washington's Pacific Coast. Stands of dead sitka spruce trees line the shore (standing and fallen or washed ashore) on one of North America's most spectacular remote beaches.
    Rialto Beach at Dawn
  • A truly breathtaking sunset with a wildly-colored sky was my reward for waiting out the sunset on this otherwise, hazy/foggy evening on the Oregon Coast near the Pistol River. Just as the light was fading and nearly gone, the fog cleared up just enough for me to wade out into the surf with a heavy tripod to get this shot.
    Oregon Sea Stacks in Fading Sunset
  • There is nothing like the California Coastline. That was evident here as I climbed high atop the cliffs in the Del Norte Redwoods State Park on a windy, hazy November afternoon. It just takes your breath away to stand in this spot in person!
    Del Norte Coast, Northern California
  • 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
  • An amazing late afternoon on Ruby Beach on Washington's Olympic Peninsula during the golden hour, when the light is warm and radiant while the evening cools and colors can appear both warm and cool at the same time.
    Ruby Beach
  • A view of Chewacla Falls near Auburn, Alabama while the water level was low... still a beautiful place but better luck next time for lots of white water!
    Chewacla Falls, Alabama
  • Early morning tranquility on the banks of the Santa Fe River in North-Central Florida with red filter applied.
    Santa Fe River
  • Early morning tranquility on the banks of the Santa Fe River in North-Central Florida.
    Santa Fe River
  • While devoid of chlorophyll and unable to make its own food like most plants, the clustered broomrape is a parasitic plant that steals nutrients from neighboring host plants. These fuzzy and perfect examples of the yellow variety were found growing among patches of poison oak in southern Oregon near Medford.
    Clustered Broomrape
  • Poison oak in full flower outside of Medford, Oregon. While it is an important food source to several species of deer and squirrels, the slightest casual contact with leaves and flowers and the urushiol oil found within the plant can cause mild to severe reactions in humans in the form of blistered skin, swelling of limbs, seeping wounds and severe itching. Symptoms can become worse with proximity to the smoke of burning poison oak.
    Poison Oak in Bloom
  • Poison oak in full flower outside of Medford, Oregon. While it is an important food source to several species of deer and squirrels, the slightest casual contact with leaves and flowers and the urushiol oil found within the plant can cause mild to severe reactions in humans in the form of blistered skin, swelling of limbs, seeping wounds and severe itching. Symptoms can become worse with proximity to the smoke of burning poison oak.
    Poison Oak
  • Canada's British Columbia is absolutely beautiful in wintertime. This view of the Illecillewaet River looking eastward towards the incredible rocky peaks of Rogers Pass was taken on a bitterly cold January morning, just north of Revelstoke, BC.
    Illecillewaet River and the Mountain..Pass
  • This insanely colorful sunrise creates the perfect backlight to Mount Rundle in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada on a bitterly cold winter morning. The only thing that makes this better is the whole scene reflected in the open water of a natural hot spring that keeps this part of the Vermillion Lakes from freezing.
    Mount Rundle and Vermillion Lakes
  • Moose Meadows in Alberta's Banff National Park under a wonderfully bright, sunny sky on a very chilly Canadian January morning.
    Moose Meadows and the Canadian Rockies
  • The sun's first rays of light engulf the entire peak of Cascade Mountain on an extremely chilly morning in Banff National Park in mid-January. The temperatures hovered around -24°F/-31°C. The surrounding valley and forest edges showed some wolf sign in the snow and a few elk were seen off in the distance.
    At First Light - Banff's Cascade Mou..tain
  • Sofa Mountain in Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park on a beautiful summer evening photographed from across Lower Waterton Lake.
    Lower Waterton Lake and Sofa Mountain 4
  • Sofa Mountain in Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park on a beautiful summer evening photographed from across Lower Waterton Lake.
    Lower Waterton Lake and Sofa Mountain 3
  • Sofa Mountain in Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park on a beautiful summer evening photographed from across Lower Waterton Lake.
    Lower Waterton Lake and Sofa Mountain 2
  • Sofa Mountain in Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park on a beautiful summer evening photographed from across Lower Waterton Lake.
    Lower Waterton Lake and Sofa Mountain 1
  • Cameron Falls is a very famous, beautiful and serene waterfall in Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta, Canada where Cameron Creek cascades over one-and-a-half billion year-old Precambrian bedrock.
    Cameron Falls
  • Second tallest of Oregon's stratovolcanoes, and one of the youngest (less than 100,00 years old) this remote mountain in Central Oregon is absolutely beautiful during sunset when viewed from the high desert plateau from the east!
    Mount Jefferson
  • This wildly colorful community of mixed lichen and an (as yet) unidentified moss covered the basalt cliffs in rural Central Washington north of Ephrata in the middle of January.
    Lichen and Moss Community
  • The south fork of the Snoqualmie River rushes out of the Cascade Mountains about 30 miles east of Seattle, Washington on a chilly winter day.
    South Fork Snoqualmie River
  • Ice is forming around the edges of Gold Creek Pond at the top of Washington's Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains. A full size this print is sized at 5.2 feet x 2.2 feet (1.58m x 0.68m) and was created from two images. The final image can be enlarged significantly with little to no distortion up to 800%.
    Gold Creek Pond with First Ice
  • Spectacular view of the trees acrtoss Gold Creek Pond at the top of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington's Cascade Mountains during a snow flurry. A full size this print is sized at 8.68 feet x 3.7 feet (2.65m x 1.13m) and was created from two images.
    Across the Alpine Lake Panorama
  • At approximately 6400 feet above sea level, Spray Park isn't actually a park but a large subalpine meadow and part of the greater Mount Rainier National Park. From here you are at the top of the tree line and get the most spectacular views of this active volcano and all of its glaciers. It may not be the easiest of places to get to, but the long climb is totally worth the effort!
    Mount Rainier from Spray Park
  • Late summer afternoon on Lake Washington in Medina, WA as snowy Mount Rainier rises above the landscape.
    Mount Rainier
  • This beautiful teal-green bullseye lichen was found growing in the Oak Creek Wildlife Recreation Area just west of Yakima, Washington. If you look closely, you can see the small fleshy fruiting bodies in the center of each lichen that will eventually release its spores to propagate the next generation. This region of the Pacific Northwest is very dry and rocky, and most of the basalt surfaces are covered in multiple types of lichen.
    Bullseye Lichen
  • Cowiche Creek in Yakima County, WA is a critically important waterway for coho and chinook salmon, as well as the endangered steelhead trout. Also found in the same waterway system are beaver as well as a host of supporting plant communities and wildlife as it passed through desert-steppe terrain. This photograph was taken in spring as melting snow in the springtime creates a surge in snowmelt runoff through Cowiche Canyon.
    Cowiche Creek
  • 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
  • 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
  • Acarospora socialis - pale yellow<br />
Candelariella aurella - bright yellow<br />
Xanthoria elegans - orange<br />
Caloplaca albovariegata - black/dark green<br />
Xanthoparmelia maricopensis - light gray/greenish<br />
Dimelaena oreina - pale green with black "blotches" (very tiny)
    Mojave Desert Lichen Community
  • Acarospora socialis - pale yellow<br />
Candelariella aurella - bright yellow<br />
Xanthoria elegans - orange<br />
Caloplaca albovariegata - black/dark green<br />
Xanthoparmelia maricopensis - light gray/greenish<br />
Dimelaena oreina - pale green with black "blotches" (very tiny)
    Mojave Desert Lichen Community
  • A vine maple in gorgeous contrast against a conifer and rocky wall at low elevation on Mount Rainier's northern slope. Nothing like nature photography for color on a rainy, cold, autumn day!
    Autumn Red Vine Maple
  • Above the snow line on Mount Rainier on a gorgeous Pacific Northwestern summer day.
    Summertime Snow on Mount Rainier
  • Mount Rainier photographed from the south on a gorgeous Pacific Northwestern summer day.
    Mount Rainier
  • One of my favorite places to photograph landscapes - Valley of Fire, Nevada.
    Valley of Fire
  • A photograph from within a cave in Southern Nevada while hunting unsuccessfully for vinegaroons while climbing the cliffs in the area. I just arrived in time for perfect light!
    Inside the Cave...
  • East Pawnee Butte in the Pawnee National Grasslands of Northern Colorado. This fantastic geological feature was only made more beautiful by the numbers of pronghorn antelope and desert wildflowers found dotted around the region.
    East Pawnee Butte
  • These fantastic cliffs are some of the only stand-out features in this remote part of northwestern Colorado.
    Pawnee Buttes
  • East Pawnee Butte in the Pawnee National Grasslands of Northern Colorado. This fantastic geological feature was only made more beautiful by the numbers of pronghorn antelope and desert wildflowers found dotted around the region.
    East Pawnee Butte
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