death valley national park

Faces of DeVa

Picture a desert and the first vision that crops up is that of sand dunes stretching endlessly to the horizon. Undisturbed ripples of golden stand wiggle their way on the windward side, forming patterns akin to life-sized fingerprints. Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park is a classic example of this. But the park also features a vast low-level basin that are filled with white salt-flats. The salt flat is the remnant of an endorheic lake that dries out by late spring, leaving behind hexagonal patterns of crystallline salt.

Death Valley is more than just sand dunes and salt flats. But these are two key faces of this DeVa.

Death Valley National Park
CA USA

A Dante'ing Sunrise

Getting to Dante's view in Death Valley requires driving on a twisty mountain road from near the lowest point on the continent. And trying to get to this spectacular view point at sunrise requires commitment of a different sort. And yet, I was able to convince my entire family to wake up at dawn and make our way to the freezing summit at Dante's view to catch the sunrise.

Thankfully it did not disappoint. It was cold, windy, and extremely colorful. The eastern sky slowly changed from crimson to pastel tinges as the sun cleared the horizon. At the same time, shafts of light lit up the the mellow eastern slopes of the Panamint range, lighting the highest point in the National Park. Down below was Badwater basin, a salt flat at the lowest point in the Park that served as the drainage for the elongated valley.

It was very hard to take it all, especially with freezing winds blasting from the east. But it was worth the trip.

Death Valley National Park
CA USA

Curves of Death Valley

Walking around barefoot on the soft sand is an experience like no other. And when I am in the Mesquite sand dunes in Death Valley National Park at the wrong time of day, I try to sample such an experience. However, when the sun starts dipping towards the horizon, I start focusing on the rich patterns formed by the undulating dunes, with the mesquite bush anchoring the wind-swept surfaces.


Perhaps the biggest challenge here may be getting away from the crowds to find your own undisturbed spot in the dunes. Which one is your favorite?


Death Valley national Park
CA USA

A National Park Journey - Death Valley National Park

It took me a while to make my way to the Golden State's largest National Park, and that mainly because of how far away the park was, and how the name threw me off. But eventually, I did, and Death Valley was anything but a portrait of death. Instead, I explored towering sand dunes, crawled through narrow sandstone canyons, drove through narrow slots barely the width of a jeep, stood enthralled by the jeweled night sky, gazed from a mountaintop onto the lowest point in the continent and enjoyed the frivolities of an eccentric businessman.

It took me a while to experience these different faces of the park, but I thoroughly enjoyed each and every visit. My most memorable moments were, of course, spent photographing the park at sunrise and sunset. This is one such take from one of the sand dune clusters right as the first light caught the wave-like pattern of the dunes.

Death Valley National Park
CA USA

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For Nature

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One of the many things that photography teaches me is a sense of love and respect for nature. And I strive to avail myself of the opportunities that allow me indulge in this love, as well as my passion for photography. This has taken me to diverse parts of the country, and explore the inner pockets of the Pacific Northwest. And wherever I go, I adhere to low-impact hiking by following Leave No Trace principles, and try to leave the place cleaner than when I arrived.

But one can only do so much. And that is why I believe in the work the various non-profit organizations around the country perform to preserve the present for the future. Join me in supporting the National Park Foundation and WildAid, two such non-profits whose missions I care about deeply.

Purchase my 2020 Photography Calendar here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sathish-jothikumar/2020-photography-calendar/calendar/product-24355024.html. Order now to receive by the New Year.

All proceeds go to the National Park Foundation and WildAid.

Seattle

WA

The high and the low

The journey from the highest point in Death Valley to its lowest point spans ~11,300ft or ~3,450m. That journey takes one from the freezing snow-capped peak of the Panamint range to through rocky canyons down through the alluvial fans onto the lowest point in the lower 48 states - 250ft below sea level. And being able to witness this gradual transition of altitude, terrain, and climate, in one single glance is not possible anywhere else except at Dante's View in Death Valley National Park

I had arrived at the 5,500ft summit of Dante's view at sunrise, hoping to witness the first light on the mighty spine of the Panamint range. And after a colorful sunrise, pockets of warm light began to shine on the dynamic terrain of the Badwater basin and the stunning landscape all around. This was one such view capturing a well-lit alluvial fan that drained the Panamint range behind a hardy shrub that survives the harsh climate of Death Valley.

Death Valley National Park

CA USA

Leading Away

Death valley. The name conjures up an image of a vast desolate wasteland where life struggles to survive, where time stops ticking, and where the no one in their right mind would want to visit. And it may have certainly kept that image were it not for the contrivances of modern civilization: paved roads and automobiles that zoom across the desert landscape in a matter of hours.

While one can still plenty of peace and quiet in this park, trying to do so at sunset time along the dunes is probably an exercise in futility; throngs of tourist scramble all over this sandy center of the park hoping to find their perfect spot.

As the last light crept through the clouds, I had to make do with dunes already imprinted by the footsteps of a previous passerby.

Death Valley National Park

CA USA

Land of diverse landscapes

I am excited to be going back to the dry deserts of Death Valley National Park after over 7 years. While the name conjures images of isolation and desolation, this place is anything but. It is a tumultuous landscape interspersed by dry salt lakes and towering mountains, where the sinuous curves of smooth sand dunes stand side by side with colorful jagged rock formations. It is a place where sunrises are magical, sunsets are spectacular, and where the night sky is sublime.

Looking at photos from a trip years past brought back many nostalgic memories of scurrying along dusty back roads and hiking in jaw-dropping terrain. This one is from a hike to Zabriskie point early one winter morning.

Death Valley National Park

CA USA