Lightning drops from the sky during an afternoon monsoon storm near Wickenburg, AZ. The Arizona monsoon is a pattern of pronounced increase in thunderstorms and rainfall over large areas of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typically occurring between June and September. During the monsoon, thunderstorms are fueled by daytime heating and build up during the late afternoon-early evening. Typically, these storms dissipate by late night, and the next day starts out fair, with the cycle repeating daily.
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. Protected within the Inyo National Forest, the Bristlecone Pine Forest is home to the oldest trees in the world, bristlecone pines. The bristlecone pine trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions. Some of these living trees exceed 4000 years of age and exhibit spectacular growth forms of twisted and beautifully colored wood.
