Artist's Palette, Death Valley National Park

Artist's Drive are located in the Black Mountains in Death Valley National Park. It is a one-way 9 miles scenic drive that can be accessed from 8.55 miles south of Badwater Road and Route 190 intersection. The Artist's Drive itself is like a roller coaster as you wind through the narrow cliffs. The geological formation of Artist's Drive is awesome. It's also an evidence that the area has gone through a very active volcanic period in the past.

Artist's Palette is among the most spectacular view along Artist Drive, which is famous with its colorful rock. The colors is a result of the oxidation of different elements - red, pink and yellow is from iron salts, green is from decomposing tuff-derived mica, and purple is from manganese.

These colorful rock formations are very photogenic at anytime of the day, although the soft light during the dusk and dawn would be the best. To add the sense of scale, it is good to include a figure in the picture. If you look carefully at my first picture, you may find a little kid squats on the rock at the right edge of the picture. Interestingly, I didn't notice that until my photography buddy told me!