Sept. 9, 2007 - Desert Thunderstorm

Canon 5D, 24 - 105 mm f/4L IS @ 58 mm, f/13, 1/200 sec., ISO 200

Taken at an elevation of about 8,500 ft. on Mount Charleston, this image looks across the Las Vegas valley toward the northeast and the Sheep Range. When I took this picture, the temperature on the valley floor was about 108 degrees. The temperature where I was standing was about 65 degrees. There was also a thunderstorm directly behind me, complete with lightning. It's a very interesting phenomenon, since the storms that percolate near the mountains are rarely able to move into the valley. They seem to simply dry up.

The Las Vegas valley, by the way, is about 600 square miles and is bounded on the north by the Sheep Range, on the west by the Spring Mountains (including Mt. Charleston), on the east by a number of smaller ranges (McCullough Range, the Muddy Mountains, etc.), and in the south by the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. While it is all part of the Mojave desert, there is plenty of variety. It ain't just casinos!