FOOTHILLS

The Great Central Valley of California is a vast, sunken plain—roughly 450 miles long and 50 miles wide—surrounded on all sides by mountains. At the base of these ranges, oak-dotted foothills rise from the valley floor to elevations of about 2,500 feet. It is in this transitional landscape that these photographs were made. Read more >

The Great Central Valley of California is a vast, sunken plain—roughly 450 miles long and 50 miles wide—surrounded on all sides by mountains. At the base of these ranges, oak-dotted foothills rise from the valley floor to elevations of about 2,500 feet. It is in this transitional landscape that these photographs were made.

While the Central Valley has been dramatically reshaped by agriculture, the foothills have remained largely untouched. Aside from a few reservoirs—mostly in the Sierra foothills—and some concentrated oil fields in Kern County, this region appears much as it did two centuries ago.

Despite spanning more than 25,000 square miles, this foothill country contains no National Parks or designated Wilderness areas. It is not a landscape designed for recreation but one shaped by work—the domain of ranchers, Army Corps of Engineers employees, oil workers, and wind farmers.

To many, these oak-speckled hills represent the quintessential California landscape—found nowhere else. And yet so little of it is federally protected or publicly accessible. The vast majority remains in private hands, largely closed off to the public.

Still, this land receives our trespass with quiet grace. Roads become sinuous ribbons threading through the hills. Wind turbines hover lightly atop the ridgelines, undisturbing in their presence. Ranch houses and barns seem perfectly placed, as if grown from the soil itself. Even telephone poles and barbed wire follow the land’s curves with unexpected elegance. Here, the human-made and the natural entwine seamlessly, forming a rich tapestry of nuance, texture, and line.