Stacked plates of salt crust leading toward a magenta sunset over Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park.

Badwater Fire

Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California

I was back at the car with the bag packed when the light turned, and there is no version of that where you just drive away. Everything came out again. What made the unpacking worth it was the salt — those big stacked plates run in the same direction as the clouds, so the ground and the sky pull the eye the same way instead of fighting each other.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S · 24mm · f/13 · 1.0s · ISO 31

February 15, 2026

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Desert gold wildflowers on a slope above the salt flats of Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park.Salt crust at Badwater Basin lit low across its ridges during blue hour, Death Valley National Park.Clouds reflected in floodwater on the salt flats of Badwater Basin, the Panamint Range beyond, Death Valley.Telescope Peak above Badwater Basin at late blue hour, salt formations visible beneath standing water, Death Valley.

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