Grand Canyon Plants

Almost every photo that I took in our short landing within the Grand Canyon featured one or more of the plants growing there.

It is dry and inhospitable territory and nothing of any size grows there - at least not in the area that we visited.

Underfoot it was rocky but the top layer of stones was loose and when you walked on it the sound was like walking over a pile of broken flower pots.

There was a lot of fossil in the rock with patterns of water.  Most of the plants looked pretty tough.  The cactus, above, was several feet tall.

There are mountain sheep and smaller plant eating animals living in the Canyon but they must have a lean time in this area - very little shelter from the sun or wind - and very little to eat.

Once again I am afraid that I don't know the names of these plants..

The dead branches of this striking plant were laid out on the ground like a shadow.

Others were growing up through a dead, woody skeleton of previous branches.