Terra Galleria Photography

Posts Tagged ‘deserts’

Basin and Range National Monument Farewell

Days 14, 15 Shooting Gallery Basin and Range National Monument is located near the south edge of the Great Basin Desert. The detached Shooting Gallery Unit, about 8 miles west of Alamo, is the southernmost section of the monument. It is part of the Mojave Desert, as evidenced by strands of Joshua Trees growing there. […]

The Desert Peaks

Days 3,4,5 Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument protects five mountain ranges located in four detached sections of distinct character straddling all sides of the city of Las Cruces and separated by two interstate highways, I-10 and I-25. To the east, the 20-mile-long Organ Mountains, although they form the second smallest section, are the most developed […]

Waterman Peak, Ironwood Forest National Monument

Day 3 After arriving at the trailhead for Waterman Peak in Ironwood Forest National Monument at 12:30 am, I walked around to locate the trail. Having driven straight from the previous sunset location, I had re-arrange the gear in my new rental car to make room for sleeping before setting up the alarm clock for […]

Bigelow Cholla Garden Wilderness

Day 2 In Mojave Trails National Monument, Bigelow Cholla Garden Wilderness, 18 miles west of Needles, protects California’s densest population of the fluffy cactus. The Wilderness area is bounded by I-40 on the north and power utility roads on the southwest and southeast. On my first visit, I tried to drive the later roads in […]

Bonanza Springs – Car troubles in the desert

Day 1 At Bonanza Springs, the only water source of its size in more than 1,000 square miles of most arid desert, willows and cottonwoods line up a small canyon for half a mile. The watering hole sustains rare Mojave Desert wildlife including tortoises and bighorn sheep. It is a great place to camp and […]

Is the Sonoran the most diverse of the North American Deserts?

Part 5 of 5: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 When reading descriptions of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, you come across a lot of statements that the national monument is the most biologically diverse of the North American deserts for instance, from the BLM that manages the national monument, although what […]

Ironwood Forest National Monument’s Ragged Top

Part 4 of 5: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Although a primary helper of biological diversity, the desert ironwood tree for which Ironwood Forest National Monument was named is hardly a visually impressive feature. On the other hand, independently from its remarkable biological diversity, you cannot miss the prominent 3,907-foot Ragged […]

A Tree in Ironwood Forest National Monument

Part 3 of 5: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Of all the North American deserts, the Sonoran Desert is distinguished by its trees – the Joshua Tree growing in the Mojave is a yucca and lacks wood. Desert ironwood trees (Olneya tesota) grow only in the Sonoran, where they are one […]

Sonoran Desert National Monument Guide: Part 2

Part 2 of 5: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Although quite obscure in the big scheme of things, the locations in Sonoran Desert National Monument that we visited in the first part of the article are the most obvious because they are along the monument’s designated trails. Those trails predate the […]

Sonoran Desert National Monument Guide

Part 1 of 5: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in North America – or maybe not, see discussion in the last part of this series. Thanks to the national park designation, the most well-known track of Sonoran Desert consists of Saguaro National […]