Dolan Springs, Arizona, USA

♫ If you got all the stuff, and you can't get enough, then line up - line up. ♫ In this case, "stuff" means mail for the desert secluses. Recognize Aerosmith? [2022]

Boulder City, Nevada, USA

Saguaro cactuses are associated with the Sonora Desert and Arizona, but this one is in southern Nevada, at the northern-most extent of its range. Can you tell it was planted here to add a sense of place to the barrenness that envelops Lake Meade? See the water? [2022]

Dolan Springs, Arizona, USA

If you don't believe in the devil, just visit the Mohave Desert. There, you have multitudes of them in the form of dust devils. Think: mini-tornadoes. Or, if you live near the Chesapeake Bay, think: waterspouts without the water. How do those xerophytes survive? [2022]

Rhyolite, Nevada, USA

Imaginary friends:

   Treat us so nice,

   Give us advice,

   Keep wise words concise.

   Require no sacrifice.

Imaginary friends:

   In our minds must they stay,

   Or, at least far away.

   Lest our real friends do say

   "Don't be cray-cray!"

[2016]

Beni Mellal, Morocco

Today, there are 60,000 camels in Morocco, and the population is growing thanks to so many newborns (see the calf who loves to stay close to his mother?). Camels are especially suited to long-haul transport in arid and semi-arid lands, and they are more "Ram Tough" than the Big Horn. [1989]

Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia

Last day of 2020: Alleluia! The year will linger on in memory as an inselberg, a distinctive mountain of memories that will diminish in size only as the years to come push it farther onto the horizon. Inselbergs are symbolic of the isolation we have all felt this past year: We lived our lives in the image of Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock). [1988]

Mohave Valley, Arizona, USA

Exactly one year ago, when this picture was taken, the Mojave Desert looked like God's flower garden. More than the usual amount of winter rainfall resulted in a super bloom. Not this year though: yes, a bloom, but not wet enough for a super bloom. [2019]

La Verkin, Utah, USA

Thanks to so much public land, there are large areas of Utah where you can pitch a tent and watch the snow melt. In this case, the meltwater of the Pine Valley Mountains feeds the Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado, which has formed a spectacular canyon of its own just southwest of here. Not far away is the Grand Canyon. [2019]

Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA

Desert sunflowers add to the brilliance of this year's super bloom. In addition, they have assistance from other bands of the spectrum: orange cups, purple desert lupine, and lots of green. Don't forget to appreciate the green! It's the photosynthesis that makes flowering possible. And, green is not a normal desert color! [2019]

Needles, California, USA

Performing now on a desert stage (probably not near you): the golden suncup. The show began in early March, the last month of the rainy season. It will continue until soaring daytime temperatures turn the landscape brown for the rest of the year. Where can you see this show? The Mojave Desert. [2019]

Mojave Valley, Arizona, USA

To get a super bloom like this, it takes lots of rain, cold nights, and low daytime temperatures. Let's hope all these wildflowers produce lots of seeds and set up conditions for another super bloom soon. [2019]

Ibis, California, USA

The locals are calling it a super bloom. A wet winter has brought out springtime colors all over the Mojave Desert. Yellows and purples predominate, but every color of the rainbow is on display. Go now, or take your chances that next year's bloom won't be quite so super. Remember, super blooms rarely happen two years in a row. [2019]

Wadi Qelt, Palestine

Welcome to the Judean Desert. It wasn't so welcoming to Jesus, though. He spent forty days here, in the wilderness, after being baptized by his cousin John. Here, he was tempted by the devil, but he never did turn stone into bread so he could eat. Hanging from the cliffs is the Monastery of St. George with its roots in the 4th century. [1998]

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Look up! It's International Astronomy Day. Clouds permitting, the least you can do is find the North Star (unless your're somewhere down under)! So, why would an international observatory be located in the Canary Islands? Just look at those blue skies and how far you are from any light pollution. Plus, you're 8,000 feet above sea level (less atmosphere). [2017]

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

The Canary Islands are an autonomous community of Spain (just like Catalunya or Andalusia) but located a thousand miles away. Look at the landscape: It's an extension of the Sahara. In fact, the original inhabitants were Berbers. Like most oceanic islands, though, there is also a windward side, in this case the north, which is much greener. [2017]

Agafay, Morocco

When the sun has done its work for the day, it sets in the western sky. This is what a sunset looks like in the deserts south of Marrakech. Red and orange wave lengths are more difficult for the atmosphere to scatter, but just before sundown, the depth of atmosphere through which sunlight must pass is maximized, giving us magnificence like this. [2017]

Agafay, Morocco

Given enough water, date palms and olive trees capture the energy of the sun and turn it into edible sugars and oils. Here, a small barrage along an ephemeral stream keeps water from flowing away and gives it time to sink into the ground, setting up conditions for oasis agriculture. See the dog? He may serve as the local police force. [2017]

Agafay, Morocco

The Agafay Desert south of Marrakech is not exactly an expanse of wilderness. Some salt mines and natural oases brought life to these arid landscapes in the past, and some wells make it possible for more people to live here today. The biggest source of revenue, however, is desert tourism, which generates the need for ever more building material. [2017]

Cuba, New Mexico, USA

It's wider than it is tall, so it must be a mesa. Buttes and mesas start out as plateaus, then running water takes over, and streams start etching their way into the surface, planing it away. No evidence of streams here? Maybe not now, but we are talking about geologic time. Landforms like these also depend on horizontal bedding. [2013]

Fort Lupton, Colorado, USA

It's taller than it is wide, so it must be a butte, the remnant of a worn-down tableland. As the vertical sides succumb to weathering and erosion, scree collects at the base forming a talus cone. Although these are arid lands, the work of running water is easy to see. [2013]