Recent highway construction reveals a slice through the one billion year old Central Gneiss Belt with Rose Quartz, one of the geological wonders of the world, Ontario, Canada
Undisturbed Gneiss with Rose Quartz formations on the outer islands embody forms of the female. Boundary Islands, Georgian Bay, Canada, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
Cathcart Island, Georgian Bay, Canada, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
August storm clouds arrive to the Boundary Islands after a summer of record low precipitation. Boundary Islands, Georgian Bay, Canada, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
Hiker’s inscription along a path near San Rafael Swell. Public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Utah USA
Campsite near Goblin Valley. Public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Utah USA
Extensive replanting of sandy areas along the trail funded by the BLM. Calf Creek Recreation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Utah USA
Lower Calf Creek Falls drops 128 feet into a refurbished swimming hole at the end of the trail. Calf Creek Recreation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Utah USA
View of the approaching tourist boat from the Wall of Cedars where an ancient cedar tree was discovered and dated by Kelly and Larson, “a cross section from what may be the oldest tree in Canada …it is estimated that this cedar was approximately 1,890 years old when it died.” Flower Pot Island, Fathom Five National Marine Park, Ontario, Canada
To preserve fragile rock surfaces, the Grand Staircase-Escalante Visitor Center in Kanab grants 10 entry permits by lottery each day to visitors of The Wave on the Arizona-Utah border. The owner of the Ebony camera won the lottery on three consecutive days and hiked in before dawn each morning with a solar-powered cooler for his film. I sat with the photographer on the third afternoon calling a perfect cumulus cloud to appear over the peaks for his picture. The Wave, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona, managed by the BLM
I sketched another view of the famous Wave entrance for the photographer as the cumulus cloud moved north and away from our horizon. The Wave, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona, managed by the Bureau of Land Management
Flume Trails, Breckenridge, managed by the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado USA
In 1921, Janet Everest purchased 20.3 acres of uncut woodland to save it from logging. In 1963, Janet Everest Bentley donated the land to the Nature Conservancy. New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation describes the lowland section, which is part of the Irondequoit Creek floodplain, as “harboring cedars and mature specimens of white pine and hemlock. One white pine has a DBH of 41 inches…. indicating that it is surely a first growth tree.” The DEC makes special mention of the Fen, which is a spongy layer of peat, a freshwater non-tidal wetland, giving the preserve the designation of “a significant natural community.” Bentley Woods, managed by the Nature Conservancy, Victor, New York USA
The roadbed to the Bentley Preserve is now private property, leaving the woods landlocked and accessible only through permission of surrounding landholders. Bentley Woods, managed by the Nature Conservancy, Victor, New York USA
An eroded path along the bank of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes comprising the largest surface freshwater lake system on Earth, EPA, holds twenty-two percent of the world’s fresh water. Chimney Bluffs State Park, Huron, New York, USA