So yesterday I posted a view of Artist's Drive in Death Valleythat I first glimpsed in my rear view mirror. The view above is the one I had ahead of me having exited the canyon and making my way back to Route 178. Route 178 is that black line running across the frame about one-third of the way up from the bottom of the picture.
As you can see, to all intents and purposes, death valley has a flat base today, presumably made up of layers of silt and sediment laid down over the last few thousand years culminating in the salt crust that makes the surface today. The white areas are actually the lowest points, the last place from which the water evaporates to leave behind a crystalline layer that is 95% NaCl – table salt.
Once again, the clouds had rolled in shrouding this whole view in shade which only adds to the air of desolation. Seemingly devoid of plant life in this view, death valley is a fitting moniker.
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Production Data
Camera: canon eos 5d
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens (B&H)
Processing: Lightroom 3.6
Processing: photomatix 4.02
Processing: photoshop CS5
Processing: Topaz Adjust 5
