This is the third in a series of three posts featuring my photographs from Death Valley National Park taken over the 2023-2024 winter season (first part here, second part here).
Death Valley is known for many things: the salt flats and polygons at Badwater Basin, the various sand dunes scattered across the park, and the impressive and colorful badlands. Perhaps less appreciated are the mountains, alluvial fans, and canyons spread across the park—and the rocks that comprise them.
Death Valley is geologically diverse and chaotic, qualities that are obvious with even a single afternoon in the park. With more time, this diversity and chaos becomes a defining feature of the landscape. The park’s many canyons, for example, provide the best solitude and hiking opportunities in the park and luckily for geologically curious photographers, allow visitors to see these cool rocks up close. While these rocks are not the most popular subject for photographers (or viewers), they are one of my favorites. So here they are - just some rocks - that I find endlessly fascinating.
PS: If you are visiting Death Valley and want to learn more about the geologic history of the park, Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Eastern California is an excellent, accessible resource.
