Deserts, dunes, and rock. Places of extremes where springs can make an unexpected oasis and wildflowers can flourish for a short time after a rare rain. Some of the photos here include rivers carrying water from less-parched lands, just passing through these lands of little rain.

Lands of transition, the terrain between deserts and well-watered lands.

From rainforest to rain-making mountains.

The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a wetland complex of 250 square miles including its headwaters and watershed. Most of its extent is private land but parts of the lower reach, adjacent to my home town of Sebastopol, Sonoma County, are owned by various public agencies, some of which allow access through a network of trails. From foggy sunrises to spectacular sunsets, it is a special place.

Old growth, very old growth.

Little rivers, short ones, from the coastal mountains to the sea in Northern California and Southern Oregon