Sunset over San Jacinto

Behind The Image

“The outline of the San Jacinto mountains are blocking what is left of the late day sun. The view from the edge of Joshua tree, it is simplistic but natural.” -Robert Lowdon

Joshua Tree National Park is located at the convergence of the Colorado and Mojave deserts in southeastern California. The landscape here is a combination of forbidding desert, rugged rock formations, canyons, valleys and mountains. Like any desert, the climate at Joshua National Park is harsh. However, this has not stopped many plants like the Joshua tree and many animals like the coyote and bighorn sheep from thriving in this atmosphere.

Rather than austere, Joshua National Park is seen as beautiful by the almost 3 million people that visit every year. Many come here to hike its trails and to experience its sunsets and starlit skies. The sunsets at Joshua National park can be spectacular as seen in Sunset in San Jacinto and it is thought that the vibrant reds found in these sunsets is caused by air pollution from forest fires and smog from surrounding cities. While sunsets may be ‘prettier’ with lower levels of air pollution, there is a point where the quantity of air pollution will actually cause sunsets to be grey or have no colour whatsoever.

It could be said that prettier sunsets may actually be predictors of a dire situation. It is well known that pollution and climate change can have terrible consequences for the health of our wilderness. This is true for Joshua National Park where scientists have predicted that Joshua trees will cease to exist by 2100 unless the effects of climate change can be reversed.

Sunset in San Jacinto portrays the beauty that can be found in a sunset in Joshua Tree National Park. A sunset paints the sky in vibrant blue and orange and casts a shadow over the San Jacinto mountains. Looking at this photograph you can almost feel a chill looking at the awe inspiring sunset and the pattern that it creates on the mountains in the foreground.