Artist's Palette is one of the most colorful places in Death Valley. The day I took this photograph was the first time I actually walked through its canyons and ravines. Walking among the colors made me think I was on some alien planet. Oxidation of various minerals in the rock is the source of the variety of colors. Iron salts produce the red, pink and yellow, the decomposition of tuff-derived mica is responsible for the green and the purple is caused by manganese.
Photographer: Rick Scott
Date: December 29, 2003
Camera: Minolta DiMAGE A1 digital camera
Exposure: 1/640 second at f/8
Camera Mode: ISO 100 JPEG
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2 for image processing
Updated: 2 December 2005