Imaging USA 024: Tumbleweed in Death Valley (CA)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

024: Tumbleweed

Death Valley in the state of California was formed about two million years ago when the earth shifted by plate tectonics and opened a huge fissure that eventually formed a valley. Surrounded by mountains, hot air cannot escape from the valley, and rain clouds coming from the Pacific Ocean are blocked by the mountains. As a result, Death Valley is one of the hottest and driest places on earth. And without doubt, one of the most beautiful places in California, because of the great variety of landscapes, and a broad range of natural colors of the stone formations. Because of the extreme climate, hardly anything grows in the valley. One of the few living things that you can meet in Death Valley are tumbleweeds that roll unstoppably, driven by the wind.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 1999, 2017

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Imaging USA 021: Wheel track in Death Valley (CA)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

021: Wheel track

Death Valley, located at the border between the states of California and Nevada, is one of the lowest, hottest and driest locations on earth. The air temperature can reach almost sixty degrees, while the surface temperature may hit almost a hundred degrees. It hardly rains in the valley, that has the lowest point at 86 meters below sea level. When I was in the Valley, it was a cool day, with a temperature just above forty degrees. The air felt hot and dry, als if you were in front of an oven wide open. We walked around, and it was easy to imagine, in this dusty environment, how it would be to walk on the moon, albeit that the gravity force is much lower on the moon. Because of the lack of rain, it is really hard to estimate the age of this tire track. It could have been made yesterday, but even long ago: who knows, years ago even!

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 1999, 2017

Imaging USA 020: The Colorado River at Marble Canyon, AZ

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

020: Colorado River

When we were on the way to Page, the small city that gives entrance to Lake Powell, we made a short trip to Marble Canyon. Route 89A was followed, until the famous Navajo Bridge, that spans the Colorado River. Marble Canyon, named after the colorful cliffs and walls that have nothing to do with marble. Marble Canyon is situated between Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell and the confluence of the Little Colorado River, that marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. The Navajo Bridge was constructed in 1929, and only in 1995, a new bridge, parallel to the old bridge, was opened. A dam was planned to be constructed in Marble Canyon, but that project was abandoned in 1968. The cool Colorado water form a sharp contrast with the colorful ancient rock walls of the Canyon. 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 1999, 2017