Picture of the week

Mt. Whitney above the Alabama Hills

Mt. Whitney covered in snow in the distance with the Alabama Hills in the foreground.  Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states of the US at 14,495 feet. I have climbed this 3 times, and all from the western side via the John Muir Trail, going over Forester's Pass in each occasion. It is hard to judge which is more arduous, as Forester's pass is up at 13,153 feet in elevation.  Although climbing Whitney from the east side out of Whitney Portal can be done in 1-2 days, it is a more crowded trail and not as scenic or pristine as the backcountry when traveling on the John Muir (and also overlapped with the Pacific Crest Trail) as approached from the west.

The Alabama Hills are a more eroded and smaller granite mountain range just east of the sierras (and west of Lone Pine, CA). Previous theories suggested that based on the amount of erosion, these rocks were some of the oldest in this portion of the western US.  But more recent learnings suggest that the granite is approximately the same age as those that make up the Sierra mountain range just to the west including Whitney.  The difference is that these rock formations of the Alabama hills are lower in elevation and previously submerged in an ancient sea that used to cover the Owens Valley including these hills. This submersion in water contributed to a higher degree of erosion (water is slightly corrosive with the granite), and thus accelerating the sculpting and rounded shape of these rocks.  Over time due to fault lifting from plate tectonic activity, the elevation of these mountains have moved upward, draining the Owens valley and exposing these hills. Today they are up at over 5000 feet in elevation. It can be hard to fathom how the geology has changed in this area over time. Trying to comprehend this makes one ponder how short a time period man has existed on this planet relative to its age and gradual change in the earth's formations.

Due to the intricate nature and variety of shapes for these rocks, they can be quite facinating to explore and photograph, being one of my favorite locations when passing through this area. You can see more images of the Eastern Sierras region in my image gallery here.

All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2014.  Last updated: 3/16/2014   ()