Zimbreski Point & Badwater, Death Valley

An early wake up this morning to drive to Zimbreski Point to capture some additional images of the sunrise from slightly different locations to yesterday. The point was better today than yesterday as there were less people about – no doubt because of the cool conditions and chilly wind. The purples and pinks of sunrise were spectacular over the point with the moon going down behind the snow capped mountains. As the sun peaked over the horizon the morning light bathed the craggy peaks and gullies creating ideal contrast and colour.

From Zimbreski Point a short drive was made to Badwater with a stop to photograph a pair of desert ravens which were hanging just off the road on the salt pan. Initially the ravens were careful not to approach too close, but after some time getting used to me they became quite interactive. One fellow actually posed several times on a rock with a clear background. I could
have spent longer with these two birds as it was obvious they were intelligent and social animals, however, I wanted to reach Badwater while the light was still relatively low on the horizon to capture the texture and delicate and patterns of the salt crystals in the area.

There are several textual styles produced by salt in the Death Valley region depending upon wind movement, local temperatures, and water/alt content. The salt can form trails that mimic strand lines produced as flood waters recede and evaporate. The colour of the salt can alter dramatically depending upon the mineral and biological content. Often the white salt is tinged with pink indicating that algae was once present when the water was shallow. By the way, I did taste the salt; the taste was very strong; much stronger than usual table salt.

After catching a quick bite to eat (dehydrated food) which was not exactly tasty I headed out of Death Valley traveling south east toward Trona Pinnacles via an old ghost town that was signposted. Unfortunately the ghost town was nothing more than a few jumbled buildings from yesterday year and not really worth capturing on film, but as it was just off the road not much time was wasted making the detour.