Below, two detail views. These waterbirds can at times be found on rivers and springs in the desert. Copyright 1999 Laura Cunningham. A Sierra foothill pool along Bear Creek, tributary to the Merced River, below Yosemite Valley. Death Valley would have been unrecognizable.
Yellow warblers migrate through Death Valley, feeding in mesquites instead of maples.
Copyright 1999 Laura Cunningham. Placed in Top 200 in 1999 Arts for the Parks Show. Graphite on paper. Collection of Roy Andrew Adams. Grizzlies may have wandered into the desert edges on occasion, but were not normally found in that habitat.