Author Wallace Stegner says to appreciate the desert, you must forget about the color green for the desert is painted in a thousand shades of red and brown.

It is a land of canyons carved into weathered rhyolite and basalt, where new wonders wait just around the bend.

It is a land of unique geological formations, where rocks from the basement of time are stacked like ancient Greek columns.

In the desert, the wind carves intricate patterns in sand dunes as tall as buildings.

In a land where only inches of rain fall each year, all life has evolved to conserve the precious fluid.

Rivers provide more than water. They provide adventure. Those willing to make the effort are rewarded with challenging rapids, stunning scenery and solitude.

To emigrants on the Oregon Trail, the desert was a godforsaken place. To others, it is a land of inspiration.

Even the mountains are a grim reminder of the harshness of the land. They are named the Owyhees in memory of a lost group of Hawaiian fur trappers.