Driving to Owens Valley was an insightful trip that allowed me to experience and see the landscape diversity that California has to offer. Each mile we drove revealed the topographic geography of the region. I found myself standing amidst the impressive Sierra Mountains, and the Inyo Mountains in a landscape of its own. Owens Valley is the fold between the mountainous terrain of the Great Basin. The arid environment is not to be underestimated because elevation change in the landscape introduces a contrasting setting such as the Alabama Hills area that consist of red soil and grand geologic rock formations. The riparian traces of the valley weave within the landscape as they follow streams or small bodies of water. The volcanic remnants of Fossil Falls are uniquely embedded onto the landscape and are layered with ages of historic background. All of the context gave Owens Valley the identity of an open basin enclosed by vast mountains blocking a horizon but creating its own.
