Before that, all this land was under some other layer of sediment; magma formed bubbles and odd shapes under ground and froze into granite. Time shifted the top-layers away and left these strange structures beaming in the wind. The feeling that I get of unchanging land is, I recognize, nearsighted.

As a species, we tend to see history in terms of 5 generations, with a heavy concentration on the one in the middle. But if you take the story of creation as a parable for the history of the world - Monday and Tuesday are what God used up to get the world going. Life began Tuesday, around noon.

The anarchic beauty of it all unfolded over the next four days. At one-fortieth of a second before midnight, the industrial revolution began. So quick to elect ourselves God's rightful heir and master of all living creatures; it's strange how we view our existence as a natural establishment of Darwin's theorums. In fact, there have been five major extinctions over the course of the world; each on average destroying 20 percent of all species.

But these occurred over thousands or millions of years; where in the sixth, in just that last 1/40 of a second, man has doubled the size of the Sahara, and brought South American rainforests to six percent of their original size. We consume nearly half the world's biological production and over half of all available freshwater. Species, in fact, are dying between a hundred to a thousand times faster than normal. A little respect for God's creation, some common sense and some sound economics can reverse all this.

Desert Southwest Barren Borrego The Barren Desert Notes on the Channel Islands Windblown zoology off the coast of Los Angeles Mesa to Canyon along the Colorado Plateau Mesa to Canyon along the Plateau Saltwater Fish of Death Valley A look at the big controversy about the small fish. Wandering the Eastern Mojave Notes on the Mojave National Preserve in Southern California. High Desert Stories from California's High Desert Areas Gray River in the Sun Driving and paddling the Los Angeles River, with a look at the heart of the city. Death and Salvation on the New River The Salton Sea, the New River, an environmental catastrophe, and the people who live there. Panamint Valley Roach Motel Everybody has stayed at a really bad motel. Want to hear about my experience? Atomic Agriculture on the Rio Grande Contemplate chili peppers and the white sands of southern New Mexico. Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea Kayaking, and trying to make sense of, the Salton Sea. Trona and the Unusual Lake Searles Traveling desert roads, meeting desert locals. Four Seasons of the Mojave "... along Geology Tour and Lost Horse Mining Trail and up to Keyes View, a sight of 29 Palms and the Air Force Installation behind the next mountain range..." Captions from the Los Angeles Coast Images and captions from the LA coast.