_JMG3045-Edit In March of this year, during my 2-day excursion to the area with fellow photography friends, I was very fortunate to experience a storm as it rolled into the area. The storm brought with it wonderfully shaped clouds which danced in the sky and created dramatic formations of ever-changing light. The storm added new elements to the already intense and dramatic landscape and truly became a photographers dreamspot for me!  The “Alabama Hills” consist of a range of hills and geological rock formations near the eastern slant of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is located in the Owens Valley, which lies west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, towers high above the valley.The area is only 2½ hours from Los Angeles and a popular filming location for TV and film productions. Since the 1920s, about 150 movies and a dozen television shows have been filmed in the "Hills."  Among the main attractions in the "Hills" are dozens of natural arches, to include the Mobius Arch, the Lathe Arch, and many more. The two main types of rock to be seen here are an orange volcanic rock and potato-shaped large boulders.

Many of these stand on end due to spheroidal weathering acting upon nearly-vertical joints in the rock. While the rocks of "Alabama Hills" are identical in composition to the 14,000-foot peaks looming above, the difference in appearance is the result of the weathering processes. Up high, the freezing snow has caused the splintering of the granite seen at Mount Whitney. Down in the warmer Owens Valley, the "Alabamas" took shape when the climate became drier,  exposing and shaping the piles of boulders. Water and wind continue to shape the landscape and rocks to this very day. The beige and blacks in the mottled coloring are the result of being stained for millions of years by the oxidation of the iron minerals in the rock. 

- Jennifer