346. Badwater

The water edge where I stand taking this shot is 282 feet below sea level. Telescope Peak in the background is 11,000 feet. Even standing looking at the discrepancy in altitude it is hard to comprehend. My trip to Death Valley was during another learning community, two classes in one - photography and geology. For three years I have listened to my co-worker lecture about geology and the formation of the mountains and rocks of California. And I crack up every time he starts a sentence with, "These mountains are relatively young in geological time. They are only about 100 million years old." But it is hard to laugh when I think about what a short period of time humans have been on this ancient earth and how much damage we have done.