Vernal Pool
Carrizo Plain National Monument,
California
Text & Photography By Ron EdmanC
arrizo Plain National Monument is a large grassland plain
located on the southeastern edge of San Luis Obispo
County in California. The prominent features of the
plain are Soda Lake, an alkali lake that, depending on rainfall,
can vary greatly in size, and Painted Rock, which is a large rock
alcove adorned by pictographs created by local Native American
peoples over thousands of years. Mountains rimming the plain
have been created by the activity of the San Andreas Fault, which
runs through the park. When the conditions are right, for a brief
period of time during the spring, the plain is transformed into an
almost endless carpet of a variety of wildflowers. At this time,
small wetlands form on the plain and are known as vernal pools.
These harsh alkali pools are home to rare plants and animals,
including the longhorn fairy shrimp, an endangered species.
My camera club, NANPA Nature Photography Group of the
Central Coast of CA, held a meetup in early April of 2019 to
photograph wildflowers at the Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Our area had seen above-average and well-timed rainfall, result-
ing in a tremendous display of wildflowers in several locations
around the central coast but especially at the Carrizo Plain. I
had been to the area only a couple of times in the past and didn’t
know it well, so this was a perfect opportunity to visit it with
others who knew it better.
When we reached Carrizo Plain, we were fortunate enough to
see a small group of pronghorn, which were reintroduced to the
area in the 1980s. Next, we were confronted with a spectacular
display of wildflowers covering large patches of the plain and
surrounding hillsides. Varieties seen included tidy tips, fiddle-
neck, purple haze, creamcups, owl’s clover and San Joaquin
blazing star. It was late morning when we stopped along one of
the many dirt roads that crisscrossed the plain. Not too far off
the road, we came upon several vernal pools encircled by wild-
flowers. The yellow of the goldfields and purple of the phacelia
were predominant colors in this wildflower carpet. These colors
were complemented well by the blue, partly cloudy sky.
Being careful not to disturb the fragile environment, I posi-
tioned myself so that the reflection of the clouds in the pool was
to my liking. Although I had a polarizing filter on my lens, I
rotated my filter to ensure that the reflection of the clouds was
still visible. Shooting handheld, I tried several different positions
and framing, but I liked this composition the best. OPSee more of Ron Edman’s photography at ronedmanphoto.com.behind the shot
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