Balanced Rock, Joshua Tree National Park
© Mark Newman/The Image Bank/Getty Images
Although the titular trees are justly celebrated, this desert region's geology is every bit as unusual as its flora. An ecologically sensitive area, Joshua Tree was protected as a national monument beginning in 1936, before gaining park status in 1994. It may be one of the nation's younger national parks, but Joshua Tree's distinctive monzogranite formations, featuring balancing stones and bedrock stacks cracked in geometric patterns, date back around 10 million years. Set where the high-elevation Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert meet, the park is about three hours east of Los Angeles by car and welcomes more than 3 million visitors in a typical year.
沙漠还是甜点？
天然“教堂”
雾霾中的“高峰”
这难道是天外来客的座椅？
没那么烂
被一分为二的城市
陡峭、纯粹的美景
荒地上的美好时光
