slgwv's photos with the keyword: ephemeral

Looking southwest across an ephemeral lake to the Granite Mountains in northern Washoe County, Nevada. The shallow basin this lake fills is normally completely dry (see the satellite view), but is filled due to the extraordinary water season last winter. Snow is also still present on the Granites; they usually are completely bare this time of year, and the continuing snowmelt is helping maintain the lake via normally dry Granite Creek.

Which was actually an ephemeral lake at this time--2011 was a much better water year. Washoe County, Nevada, USA. As usual, the map position is highly approximate due to the demise of the zoom and satellite view. The gray-green shrub in the foreground and on the slopes is sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ).