Galleries

Death Valley Vintage Photos

C.C. Pierce

Photograph of the 55 foot high natural bridge in Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. Two men stand to the left of center underneath a rock formation in the shape of an arch, while an automobile is visible from the side towards the background between vertical canyon walls. A barrel can be seen to the right of the automobile and in front of a pile of rocks. Rocky soil can be seen from the foreground towards the background.
Photograph of an automobile in the bottom of Titus Canyon in Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. An automobile is visible to the left of center on rocky soil, while a man stands to the left of it. Tall, vertical canyon walls can be seen to the left and right, which have cuts in the sides that cause the appearance of rectangular shapes in the rock. Another canyon wall is visible in the background.
Photograph of Odessa Canyon on the way to Death Valley from Barstow in Calico, ca.1900-1950. An automobile is visible at center on a dirt road curving towards the left around a canyon wall. The road runs from bottom right towards center and is lined by rocky canyon walls. Mountains are visible in the background above the walls. Photoprint reads: “On the road to the mining camp of Bismark”.
Photograph of automobiles and cattle in Imperior (Imperial?) Valley, owned by Mr. Yates, Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. Five men and women are visible standing at center around two parked automobiles with cloth tops. A heard of cattle can be seen behind the cars at right in a fenced enclosure on flat desert land. Mountains are visible in the background.
Photograph of four people standing near a salt pool in Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. Three men are standing at center near the rocky edge of a wide salt pool. A fourth man is seated on a rock at right. The pool is in the foreground at left and is roughly circular in shape. The liquid in the pool is a frothy light color. The desert behind the men is rough and rocky, and there is a steep mountain range running across the image in the distance.
Photograph of five people stopping for water at Granite Wells, Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. The people are gathered around a large wooden watering trough at center. Three men are filling a large canteen at center, while a man and another person, possibly a woman, are washing their hands in the foreground at right. There are three early-model automobiles parked in the background at right. In the distance, a large, flat portion of the desert rises up into a tall plateau. The desert ground is covered with small bushes.
Photograph of the dirt road into Death Valley from the southern end, ca.1900-1950. The heavily traveled road runs from the foreground at center into the distance. There is a single automobile parked near the side of the rutted road at right. Several people are standing near the car. The desert around the road is sparsely covered with low bushes. A tall mountain range is visible in the distance. Picture file card reads “From Puck negative #4”.
Photograph of a small graveyard in Death Valley, ca.1900-1950. Three crude graves are in the foreground at center. They all consist of dirt mounds with wooden crosses. Lines of small rocks decorate the mounds. The area around the graves is cleared of brush, but many bushes are visible in the distance. A tall mountain is in the background at center. The cross at left reads “1896-1936 Martin Zapata Nedisdo en Leo Gto. Mexico”; the middle cross is illegible; and the third cross reads “Died Feb. 27 1935 Amado Santacruz Age 54”. Picture file card reads “From Puck negative #22”.