Lightning Forks Over New Mexico Mesa

A jagged bolt of white lightning splits the gray sky above a flat-topped mesa in New Mexico. Low marine fog blankets the desert floor, softening the base of the rock formation while heat haze shimmers across the foreground. The bright midday light contrasts with the dark, charged clouds hovering overhead. Cool season air keeps the distant hills sharp against the hazy horizon. Thin branches of the storm branch out in sharp angles, illuminating the pale stone surface below. The vertical line of the fork cuts through the horizontal layers of fog and rock, ending in a sharp, electric edge against the muted desert tones.