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Over 75 miles, the valley divides two mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada's and the White

Mountains. Those mountain ranges loom about two miles into the sky on either side of you.

To the west, the Sierra Nevada's are jagged and sharp. Dense green pines grow across their riches.

Their tan granite spires claw at the sky. The softer outline of the White Mountains

dominates your view to the east. The lower slopes are dotted with hardy sagebrush

adapted to the dry, arid soil. As you look higher, you see stands of mountain mahogany.

The often-in-sun warms the Owens Valley. The skies clear and dark blue.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains tend to trap any clouds that drift in from the coast.

But what water does trickle down this side of their peaks,

elets in the Owens River.

You drive across the river when you're way to the White Mountains,

leaving behind the green grasses on the riverbank.

Minute by minute, the land becomes drier the farther you go from the river.

The road then starts to climb an alluvial fan, which looks like a giant

poured sand out of an hourglass. These astonishing geological features are created

when water transports large amounts of sediment that settle to the ground along the way.

The rich nutrients brought here have led to a small forest of sage,

...