A fresh snow blankets a forest of Ponderosa Pines near Mammoth Lakes, California. Ponderosa Pine is perhaps the most beloved of the Western pines. Its soft texture and light color distinguish it from the Southern pines; its wood is among the most beautiful of all pines. Withstanding of high winds and generally fire resistant, the ponderosa pine is the most widely distributed species of its genus in North America. The prolific ponderosa reproduces through seeds in cones and takes about two years to fully mature. Ponderosa pines can be found all across the country -- from Yosemite National Park in California and Hells Canyon Wilderness in Oregon to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota and Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
Sunrise at Boot Arch in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California. The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California, United States. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, they are part of the same geological formation.
A Sierra Wave moves over the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California. The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California, United States. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, they are part of the same geological formation.
