The Grand Canyon defines immensity. It is so vast that the Colorado River, which has carved it, is a distant sight from most overlooks. The only place in Grand Canyon National Park where you can look straight down to the Colorado River from the rim is Toroweap. You will stand at the edge of a […]
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a real-life dictionary of volcanic geology. The volcano had a series of eruptions less than a century ago, creating cinder cones and hardened lava fields, as well as active features such as hot springs, hissing, steaming fumaroles, boiling mudpots and pungent sulfur vents that are reminiscent of Yellowstone National Park, […]
Kings Canyon National Park features two easily accessible sites: a beautiful sequoia grove (Grant Grove) and the deepest canyon in the country (the Middle Fork of the Kings – about twice the depth of the Grand Canyon), however at least 95% of the park is backcountry with no road access. Since in the previous posts […]
Capitol Reef National Park offers more geological variety than any other park on the Colorado Plateau, which itself is possibly the most unique area in America for natural landscapes. You can find there multicolored cliffs and domes, slot canyons, arches, stone monoliths, and badlands. Most visitors stay on UT 24 and the scenic drive, both […]
Another week, another arch. Mesa Arch in Canyonlands is almost as iconic as Delicate Arch, but it couldn’t be more different. Mesa Arch is only about fifty feet wide and ten feet high, however it is remarkable for two reasons. First, because of its position, right at the edge of the mesa, next to a […]
Among the more than two thousand arches in Arches National Park, Delicate Arch, chosen by the state of Utah to be its symbol, is distinguised by its graceful shape and location above a curving slickrock basin with the La Sal Mountains as a backdrop. Even if your stay in Arches is brief, you shouldn’t miss […]
Zabriskie Point gives you a good introduction to Death Valley. From there, fantastically eroded and colored badlands surround you, with Telescope Peak (the highest point in Death Valley, at 11,000 feet) and the salt pan in a distance. During the winter, temperatures in the Valley are mild, the air more clear, and Telescope Peak snow-capped, […]
Autumn comes to Denali National Park between the last week of August and the first week of September. During this time, the entire tundra floor (almost the whole landscape) turns shades of yellow and red. This is my favorite time to be in the Alaska interior (except for high-altitude mountaineering where conditions are better in […]
This is the first in a new series of postings. Each will feature one specific photographic location (sometimes referred to as “photo hot spot”) in a different national park. I will describe the location, sometimes give tips, illustrate it with a few typical images, and, if warranted, provide links to all the images on www.terragalleria.com […]
