Owens Valley Adventures
I recently returned from several days exploring California’s Owens Valley. Nestled between the 14,000-foot Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west and the White and Inyo Mountains to the east, it’s the deepest valley in the United States.
The indigenous name, Payahǖǖnadǖ, means "place of flowing water" after the 183-mile-long Owens River that flows through it. But the valley is in a “rain shadow” making it an arid environment. The river flows north to south terminating in what used to be Owens Lake.
The valley has some of the most breathtaking and iconic views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It’s well worth the trip on US Highway 395 to see the sights.
Water Wars
Owens Valley provides water to the Los Angeles Aqueduct. One-third of Los Angeles’ water comes from here. In the early 1900s, it was the epicenter of the California Water Wars.
That fight for water rights inspired parts of the 1974 movie Chinatown. Chinatown is set in 1937 Los Angeles. The movie portrays the manipulation of a critical municipal resource, water, by a cadre of shadowy oligarchs, as described by Wikipedia.
Owens Lake existed for over 800,000 years as a 108 square mile body of water. It was completely emptied by 1926, only 13 years after Los Angeles began diverting water. Now it’s a predominantly dusty, dry alkali flat at the southern end of the valley.
Towns in the Owens Valley include Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine, and Olancha. About 25,000 people live in the valley.
The Shot
On the morning of March 10, I was with fellow photographers Mike Loebach and Jon Christofersen near Big Pine. Our entire 7-day trip, except for one sunrise and one sunset, was severely clear (a photographer’s nightmare).
This was NOT one of those two opportunities with good clouds. We hustled to set up in the predawn because the barely photogenic clouds in this picture dissipated within minutes of our arrival.
I liked the S-curve leading to the distant peak along with the sunrise light to the left. Once the sun started hitting the mountains, the show was over. We packed up and drove back to Big Pine for breakfast and a long overdue cup of hot coffee.
This photograph took several hours of work in Photoshop to create the mood I wanted to share. It would have taken weeks or months of return visits for the perfect conditions to materialize. I only had one morning.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus