I have divided southern and eastern California into seven regions containing more than a thousand Panoramas:

• Santa Barbara

• Channel Islands

• Los Angeles

• San Diego

• East of the Sierra

• Death Valley National Park

• Deserts of Southern California

To begin, click one of the regions listed here, or click on the map, or scroll down to see a detailed list of localities.

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The public image of Southern California fixates on Hollywood, beaches with palm trees, and endless freeways. In reaility these stereotypes are concentrated in a fairly narrow band along the coast, dominated by the vast metropolis of Los Angeles. But across the mountains and free of the congestion and pollution there is another reality, amazing landscapes of mountains and deserts, and off the coast is a chain of islands that few people ever see. In all there are four national parks in the Southland.

I tend to avoid the urban areas of Southern California but love to travel through the transmontane deserts and ranges, especially in the winter and spring. Nonetheless I find Los Angeles fascinating (and horrifying at the same time) and plan further panoramic excursions there, as well as additional coverage in the pleasant environs of Santa Barbara and San Diego. I have visited three of the Channel Islands and hope to add one more.

• Four regions cover the urban coastal strip, plus the adjacent islands: Santa Barbara for Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in the north.

• The Channel Islands, though small in land area, are so unique they get their own region.

• Los Angeles consists of the non-desert parts of Los Angeles County, Orange County, and the Inland Empire;

• then San Diego County continuing south to the Mexican border.

• The deserts begin with a long narrow strip of parallel valleys and mountain ridges East of the Sierra,

• followed by enormous Death Valley National Park, largest outside of Alaska.

• The Deserts of Southern California covers the rest, including East Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Contact Don Bain: DonBain@360Panos.com