Being a prairie boy from Alberta, I really didn’t associate waterfalls with deserts until we started spending winters in Southern California.

Certainly deserts are very arid places.  But I have come to appreciate how much alive deserts really are.  Desert plants and animals have made amazing adaptations to survive is such a harsh environment.  Following a rain, it is amazing how quickly the desert starts to green up as thirsty plants soak up as much water as they can.

Scattered throughout the area are a number of canyons that have mountain-fed streams running through them.  Beautiful waterfalls among the lush vegetation thriving in this environment create a harsh contrast to the desert, which in a few cases, is just a few steps away.

One of the Rainbow Rocks

Over the past month I have visited a couple of such canyons, both bordering Palm Springs. The first is Murray Canyon in the Indian Canyons area of Palm Springs.  The second is Rainbow Rock Canyon in Whitewater Preserve.  I thought I would share some of the beauty of these two places.

Murray Canyon

Rainbow Rock Canyon