PYRAMID LAKE and the BLACK ROCK DESERT 

After exploring the Elko area, I drove west and stayed overnight in Fernly, Nevada, a few miles east of Reno. From Fernly, a road heads north to Pyramid Lake, the largest natural lake in the state of Nevada. Pyramid Lake is surrounded by the Paiute Indian Reservation. The road north forks at a small Paiute community called Nixon. The road to the left closely follows the west shore of the lake. 

There are many large “tufa” formations along the western shoreline. These spires of calcium carbonate were formed under water long ago, when the lake level was much higher, by the calcium in freshwater springs flowing up through alkaline lake water. Receding water levels have exposed these limestone towers. From the western edge of the lake you can photograph the perfectly-shaped pyramid formation on the far side. Some of the largest tufa formations on Pyramid Lake are located at the north end of the lake. The area called “Needle Rocks” is on the shoreline and can be reached by an unpaved road from State Route 445. This area is best photographed at sunset. 

Whether they are wading the shallows in huge flocks or soaring over the lake in long formations, the white pelicans that nest on Anaho Island are worth the long trip out to Pyramid Lake. Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge is located near the eastern shore of Pyramid Lake. To find the unmarked dirt road that leads out to the edge of the lake nearest the refuge, you will have to ask for directions at the Ranger Station in the Paiute community of Sutcliffe on the west shore of the lake. Some of the rangers on duty are more helpful than others. You will need a 4x4 to drive any of the routes off the paved roads. 

Back at the Nixon junction, on the south end of the lake, the other road (State Route 447) that forked to the right heads north. If you have the time, keep going. A long and narrow range of hills along the eastern side of Pyramid Lake blocks any view of the lake from that road. State Route 447 follows the western shore of Winnemucca Lake, now completely dry. There are several large tufa needles standing on the hillside, far above the still-visible waterline. As you reach the northern end of dry Winnemucca Lake, watch the shoreline on the right side of the road for hundreds of strange hummocks (left photo) formed of the same calcium carbonate “tufa” material. Most are about ten feet in diameter. Some are broken open on top and reveal that they were formed as hollow shells with a thin (six-inch) crust. The tufa domes are back lit by morning light across the dry playa. In the distance, the silt-covered lake looks wet when heat waves rise forming a mirage. 

From the tufa domes, it’s about thirty miles farther north to the edge of The Black Rock Desert, North America’s largest playa (below). This dry lake bed stretches in one unbroken flat line for sixty miles toward the northeast beyond the small town of Gerlach. The Black Rock Desert was the site of the 1997 breaking of the world land speed record at over 763 mph—faster than the speed of sound. 

The town of Gerlach, Nevada, has a gas station, a motel, and several bars and restaurants. There is no grocery store, but you can find some supplies at the store in Empire about five miles south of Gerlach. For the best spot to photograph this large subject, head northeast out of Gerlach on the road that follows the north shore of the playa. About eight miles east of town on State Route 34 the road rises to a point several hundred feet above the desert. That’s probably the best spot for a high-angle panoramic view. Drive a few more miles east and the road drops down to the edge of the playa. At the point where the road reaches the very edge of the dry lake, a side road veers out onto the flat surface. My favorite photograph included a few sagebrushes in the foreground to give a greater feeling of depth to the scene. If you like wide-open spaces, you are going to love this place. 

Before driving out onto the dry silt surface, stop and check for soft mud. The gas station attendant in town told me that every spring he pulls cars out of axle-deep mud along the edge of the playa. He also warned me about shallow pools far out in the middle of the playa that don’t completely dry until mid-summer. The surface, in mid-May, looked very dry along the edge, so I tried a few high-speed runs out toward the middle of the playa. The distant hills didn’t look any closer from the middle of the Black Rock Desert. 

Leaving the Black Rock Desert, I headed northwest across some very wide-open spaces—miles and miles of sage-covered hills that are definitely of volcanic origin. I photographed old windmills and sod-roofed pioneer cabins. The only paved road, State Route 447, across this very remote and desolate corner of Nevada leads to the green and lush Surprise Valley in the northeastern corner of California. At the California border, irrigated alfalfa fields along the edge of the forests of the Warner Range marked a great change in the environment. I was climbing up and out of the Great Basin—that great western desert where all the rivers flow toward the center of the basin, soak into the sand, and evaporate. I stopped for dinner in a cafe in the beautiful little town of Eagleville, California, where the well-preserved architecture is worth an extended stay the next time you pass through the Surprise Valley. 

If you are planning a photo exploration of the best remote locations in the Nevada desert, read my Photograph America Newsletter #58 - “Nevada Back Roads.” If you plan to visit Nevada’s Great Basin National Park, read my Photograph America Newsletter #48 - “Great Basin National Park.” More reasons to subscribe to the most detailed bimonthly photo/travel available. For more information check out:  http://www.apogeephoto.com/800get_foto.html 

Previous Great Locations:

Up the Hudson River  
At the Base of the Kaiparowits Plateau  
Durango to Silverton Railroad along the Animas River  
Sunrise through the cottonwoods behind the old Johnson Ranch
Winter in the Tetons
Autumn Color in the Village of Waterville, Vermont   
Salt Valley Road in Arches National Park  
Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, California 
Victorians along Steiner Street on Alamo Square in San Francisco 
Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon   
Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park  
Desert Tortoise in the Mojave 
Formations along the White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park 
False kamani roots - Hana, Maui 
Bristlecone patterns along the Devil’s Backbone 
Spawning sockeye salmon jumping the falls on the Meziadin River  
Old miners' cabin above the Salmon Glacier in British Columbia   
Aspen groves along the road to Ophir, Colorado
Reflections on a small pool in the mountains of British Columbia
Afternoon shadows on snowdrifts in Jackson Hole, Wyoming   
Coral Pink Sand Dunes after a storm
In the South Desert of Capitol Reef 
Goblin Valley Buttes  
Willis Canyon Narrows above the Paria River 
The Trona Pinnacles
The Kelso Dunes
The Lost Coast
Bowling Ball Beach
Cathedral Gorge
Tuscarora