The Aerial Horizon

As we turn toward California’s South Coastal Range, we cross the Carrizo Plain and the plain stunningly presents the abstract etching of Soda Lake. An ancient stream once drained brackish waters from this region, until motion along the San Andreas Fault interrupted that flow and created this lake. Its white chalky surface tracing winding rivulets from streams into the landscape, a salty layer encrusts the lake and highlights its creative form and fractal pathways. As we trace these lines with our eyes, we imagine the inspiration of a thousand native designs etched into rock walls imitating the mysteries of creation.