BLM California News.bytes 
News.bytes Extra, issue 555

Winter Comes to the High Desert

A fall snowstorm last week provided needed moisture and beautiful scenes on public lands along the California-Nevada border northeast of Susanville. 

Up to six inches of snow blanketed the high country that was burned in the 315,000-acre Rush Fire in August.

a coyote stops in the snow
A coyote surveys the landscape on Shinn Mountain.  Sagebrush skeletons are evidence of the summer fire.

rocks poke up out of a recent snowfall
Snow highlights the ruggedness of the landscape in this view from atop Shinn Mountain, elevation 7,500 feet.

snow covers the ground and a communications tower
Guywires for a meteorological tower at the summit of Spanish Peak take on the appearance of a Christmas tree. The upper sections of the tower are missing, possibly broken off by the force of the storm.  The view is from Shinn Peak.

- Photos by Pat Farris, rangeland management specialist, Eagle Lake Field Office. (October 2012)

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