Quicklinks:
National Parks
- Death Valley National Park
- First qualified as "National Monument" in 1933, and transformed to National Park in 1994, Death Valley is situated on the eastern side of central California. It's a place of extremes: from freezing temperatures in a winter night to one of the highest summer temperatures on earth; from Telescope Peak towering 11,049 feet above Badwater's -282 feet;from canyons formed by nothing but erosion and water to absolutely dry lakes that barely see an inch of rain a year, Death Valley cannot be described in just a few words, and cannot be seen in just one visit.
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Joshua Tree National Park has a U2 album named after it, and millions of people who have never been to the park will have seen a Joshua Tree, courtesy of that album. Besides that celebrity hommage to its name, the park features two different desert zones, a few isolated and delapidating mining structures, a few hieroglyphs and an extended backcountry that enables desert solitude even though the urban sprawl of Los Angeles is just a short drive away.
- Lassen Volcanic National Park
- An "active volcanic landscape", Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to Lassen Peak, which erupted in 1915 and was last active in 1921. A scenic highway winds through the park and affords view of mudpots, boiling pools, volcanic mountains, as well as pristine alpine lakes and streams.
- Yosemite National Park
- Yosemite is one of the most famous (and most-widely visited) national parks in the US. It's plain to see why - it has got waterfalls, massive granite mountains, forested valleys, high meadows and pristine alpine lakes, among others.
[Top]National Preserve
[Top]National Monuments
- Devils Postpile National Monument
- Devils Postpile is a 60-foot high columnar basalt formation surrounded by spectacular Eastern Sierra forest and mountains. It became a National Monument in 1911.
- Lava Beds National Monument
- Inbetween cinder cones and lava flows, this national monument's claim to fame is a number of lava tube caves, which were used as a natural fortress by the Modoc Indians in the Modoc War of 1872-1873, enabling a small group of Indians to successfully fight against an US Army that by far outnumbered them. They evaded capture for five months.
[Top]National Forests
- Inyo National Forest
- Inyo National Forest is located in the Eastern Sierra part of California. I've taken pictures on June Lake Loop, at Earthquake Fault; close to Devils Postpile; as well as at Lee Vining Canyon and the rest of Highway 120 leading into Yosemite National Park from the East side.
- Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area
- This area is mostly known for Mono Lake, which delivered a considerable amount of water for Los Angeles starting in 1941, and as a result the water level dropped over 40 vertical feet. The result is water that is known for its high salinity, and is surrounded by tufas - limestone towers originally formed by underwater springs. During summer, the border of the lake is also surrounded by billions of brine flies hovering just over the water surface.
[Top]National Conservation Area
[Top]State Parks
- Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
- Anza-Borrego - named after the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and the Spanish name borrego (bighorn sheep) - is the largest State Park in California. As the name implies, the terrain is largely desert, although often mountaineous in nature.
- Red Rock Canyon State Park
- A small state park located alongside Highway 14 in Southern California.
[Top]State Historic Park
- Bodie State Historic Park
- Bodie became a State Historic Park in the early Sixties, thirty years after a devastating fire started by a school boy burned down more than half of the former mining boomtown. It is now preserved in a state of "arrested decay".
[Top]State Reserve
[Top]Recreation Areas
- Alabama Hills Recreation Area
- The Alabama Hills are located in the Eastern Sierra, near Lone Pine above the Owens Valley. The area is managed by the BLM, and was used as a scenic backdrop in many Hollywood movies.
- Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
- Sometimes referred to as "Algodones Dunes", the Imperial Sand Dunes in the southeastern tip of California are the largest mass of sand dunes in California. They rise to over 300 feet, and form the eastern edge of the Imperial valley, forming a stark contrast to that agricultural region. Parts of the dunes are open to recreational vehicles, while others are protected by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act and may only be reached by foot or horseback.
[Top]Scenic Area
- Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area
- This area is mostly known for Mono Lake, which delivered a considerable amount of water for Los Angeles starting in 1941, and as a result the water level dropped over 40 vertical feet. The result is water that is known for its high salinity, and is surrounded by tufas - limestone towers originally formed by underwater springs. During summer, the border of the lake is also surrounded by billions of brine flies hovering just over the water surface.
[Top]Other
- Alcatraz Island
- Alcatraz Island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There's a separate San Francisco gallery.
- Truckee, CA
- Truckee is a small town just off I-80, where it crosses the Sierra Nevada.