A personal geography of landscape and place, art and geo-science.
I spent the day, having started well before sunrise, on an overland obsidian recce focused on the geomorphology and distribution of the Majuba and Seven Troughs toolstone sources. A series of dramatic snow squalls cut that effort short just as I reached the ‘High Road’ from Sulphur to Gerlach. However,
Continue readingLandscape Photography: Late Snow and Last Light on the Black Rock Playa, Nevada
Desert Creek Peak 8969 ft (2734 m); Gain 2740 ft 2021.01.17 With the post-holiday, pandemic surge still upon us, Darren and I continue to focus on target High Points in relative close proximity to home. The Desert Creek Mountains are basically a northern extension of the Sweetwater Mountains, but the
Continue readingNevada High Points #77: Desert Creek Mountains
Montezuma Peak 8373 ft (2552 m); Gain 1624 ft 2021.01.09 It was time for the initial ‘Second Friday’ excursion in 2021. Snow squalls had come and gone during the week, so our plan was to head south into the southern Great Basin so that the daytime temperatures would be somewhat
Continue readingNevada High Points #76: Montezuma Range and Clayton Dunes Overland
Trinity Peak 7337 ft (2235 m); Gain 2005 ft 2021.01.03 I have a long-held goal, contrived in the early 1990s, of climbing the high points of Nevada’s named ranges. I have known a few who claim to have achieved the feat, and I do not doubt their success. Although I
Obsidian, a form of volcanic glass, is a key constituent of traditional toolkits — and the detritus of tool manufacture — found in archaeological sites throughout the Great Basin of western North America. It was preferred, in many ways, because of its absolutely sharp edges and the relative ease with
Twenty-twenty might not be a year to look back on, especially for those whose lives suffered in the wake of economic setbacks, storms of fire or weather, and the unknowns and uncertainties of the insidious and unrelenting Covid pandemic. Communities, families, and friends suffered as misinformed and misguided (or worse)
The Carson Sink is the terminal basin of the Carson River, draining from the Sierra into western Nevada. The sink is also, at times, the terminus of the Humboldt River; in years of high winter precipitation, the combined flows can result in an expansive, shallow lake in the typically barren
Continue readingLandscape Photography: Overland in Nevada’s Carson Sink
It was time for a shower. Climbing out of Death Valley, we arrived at Lone Pine, California, in the late morning, seeking refreshment and food. The hotel was not crowded so we checked in easily, cleaned up, and wandered across the street for BBQ. It was not that we ate
Continue readingA glow that had to last — Death Valley, Part 3
Our night in the overflow camp was not that bad, and we were up early covering the short distance to the iconic viewshed of Zabriskie Point. We were the first parking-area arrivals – Erno, Jeremy, Quinn, Sandy, and Randy – but were soon followed a good-sized crowd as the developed
Continue readingPatterns and process — Death Valley, Part 2.
There is always the desert. Although I thrive in arid landscapes, I find them difficult to photograph. Of course, there are waves of contrast in sand dunes, brilliant rocky outcrops, and magical golden-hour light, but so much of desert space is a great wide open, playas to mountains with subtle shifts in
Continue readingIn the days when we could wander… Death Valley, Part 1.