Posted by Steve Sieren on December 17, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Figured I'd join in on the fun with the black and whites you all have been posting here.
I never knew this but these palm grove oasis grow in fault lines areas where crushing rocks bring water to the surface. Rudy has got me into the geology of faults. I got touch the water with a stick first it was pretty warm. I'm not sure how many of these groves exist in Death Valley but this is the only one that I have seen besides one single tree in another spot.
This is just a handheld snapshot pano from a scouting session a while back. You can see the 1200 pixel version here
Posted by Steve Sieren on December 17, 2009 at 6:02 PM
This is the part that makes me want to go back and reshoot it since this is cropped a little too much.
Posted by Debjit Ghosh on December 17, 2009 at 7:20 PM
amazing, never seen or hard palm anywhere near DV...grt8 find and nice conversion on the b&w...i somehow like the 2nd one better for the sense of scale...
Posted by Eric Good on December 17, 2009 at 11:27 PM
I've never really found much interest in oasis' with palms, but after seeing this I think I might have to rethink that and explore the handful or so that are in JTNP. The pano treatment works very well IMO. Nice compositional and tonal balance throughout. No nits here... well done!
Steve, I really like these, especially the panoramic. I like the wedge-shape formed by that bare gravelly bit, and how it enters the frame from right-of-center and balances with the densest stand of palms on the left. In both photographs I love the depth in the receding and increasingly-featureless mountains.
This must be along Furnace Creek, near the mouth of the wash? To my knowledge, there are no naturally-occuring palm oases in Death Valley National Park; too far north. The palms at Furnace Creek are a mix of native (to California, not to the location) fan palms and, I believe, date palms such as are grown down at Furnace Creek Ranch. They are escapees and volunteers from the settled Furnace Creek area over the past century, is the explanation I have heard.
In your photos, the fan palms are the ones with the, well, fan-shaped fronds; and the date palms are the ones with the long fern-like fronds.
Posted by Dan Truong on December 18, 2009 at 5:59 AM
There's a bunch of oasis and warm springs over there, not necessarily near paved roads.
I'm currious where that one is. I like the mountainous background treatment of the 2nd crop. It's nice and rich textures.
Posted by Mat Malone on December 18, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Both are nice but I love the layers in the second comp. That would be a great spot to return to at sunrise/set.
Posted by Rudy Ruberti on December 18, 2009 at 3:32 PM
Nice find, Steve. Movement along faults creates a gouge zone, which is less permeable to groundwater flow. Therefore, groundwater levels may be higher on one side of a fault than the other.
Steve,
Interesting images from a whole lot of points. Geology, history and as a B&W. I like the conversion. Best Regards.
Posted by Steve Sieren on December 19, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Thanks guys,
Scott, a couple other people asked where this was and you're right it's just near furnace creek just off the road heading to Zabriskie Point. The only other other Oasis you'll find searching the internet is the Ibex Spring. There are a few pictures of that floating around. The date palms must of been put there initially as a food source and the wind took care of the rest. It really seems that park service is really taking care of this grove. Much of the palms are trimmed and the branches are left there to lock in the moisture to the ground.
Thanks for the info Rudy, it's always appreciated.
Discussion
9 repliesI never knew this but these palm grove oasis grow in fault lines areas where crushing rocks bring water to the surface. Rudy has got me into the geology of faults. I got touch the water with a stick first it was pretty warm. I'm not sure how many of these groves exist in Death Valley but this is the only one that I have seen besides one single tree in another spot.
This is just a handheld snapshot pano from a scouting session a while back. You can see the 1200 pixel version here
This must be along Furnace Creek, near the mouth of the wash? To my knowledge, there are no naturally-occuring palm oases in Death Valley National Park; too far north. The palms at Furnace Creek are a mix of native (to California, not to the location) fan palms and, I believe, date palms such as are grown down at Furnace Creek Ranch. They are escapees and volunteers from the settled Furnace Creek area over the past century, is the explanation I have heard.
In your photos, the fan palms are the ones with the, well, fan-shaped fronds; and the date palms are the ones with the long fern-like fronds.
I'm currious where that one is. I like the mountainous background treatment of the 2nd crop. It's nice and rich textures.
Interesting images from a whole lot of points. Geology, history and as a B&W. I like the conversion. Best Regards.
Scott, a couple other people asked where this was and you're right it's just near furnace creek just off the road heading to Zabriskie Point. The only other other Oasis you'll find searching the internet is the Ibex Spring. There are a few pictures of that floating around. The date palms must of been put there initially as a food source and the wind took care of the rest. It really seems that park service is really taking care of this grove. Much of the palms are trimmed and the branches are left there to lock in the moisture to the ground.
Thanks for the info Rudy, it's always appreciated.