One of the "Ancients", a tree of the Bristle Cone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of Eastern California. One of these ancient trees was found the be more then 4800 years old, making it one of the oldest living trees on earth. This is not that tree, this tree is one of the most photographed trees in the Bristle Cone Pine Forest because it is relatively easy to get to on the trail ( just remember you are up at 10,000 feet) and because of where it is situated it makes an easy subject silhouetted against the sky. This tree is dead but looks so dramatic, the wood is very dense and resinous, and thus resistant to invasion by insects, fungi, and other potential pests, rather than rot, exposed wood, on living and dead trees, erodes like stone due to wind, rain, and freezing, which creates unusual forms and shapes.
The Milky Way rising behind one the many horse statues of Galleta Meadows Sculptures in Borrego Springs, San Diego's desert region.
The new day casting its morning light onto the face of El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park. El Capitan's granite walls rise more than 3000 feet above the Yosemite Valley Floor.
