My entry into @shaka's [LMAC](https://steemit.com/letsmakeacollage/@shaka/lmac-11-new-challenge-16-sbd-prize-pool) #11 contest shows a desert landscape in the shadow of a mountain range.  The camels are just for fun!

![camel gif3.gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdTrwdhfdWiNN1ApgW8DR3E8XLVjf3Rb3enj3sjUsYJ91/camel%20gif3.gif)
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@shaka's original photo, from which he challenged us to make a collage:

<center>![shaka #11 high res.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQUUS3XYSCRpdqkXD7RBJDP9Ua9xHmvNwcSXwJmwowHKR/shaka%20#11%20high%20res.jpg)</center>
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I first thought of pyramids, and the sphinx, but then I saw an entry by @dauerossi that used this idea, so I went back to the drawing board.  The desert was still on my mind, and that's how my current picture came into being.  I had read once about the Atacama dessert, so the idea of rain shadow desserts followed naturally.
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The [Atacama,](https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/atacama_desert.html) the [Mojave,](http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/mojave_desert.htm) and the [Karoo,](https://books.google.com/books?id=BOs9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=%22karoo%22+%22rain+shadow%22&source=bl&ots=LpZ-npoXmT&sig=ACfU3U0DOFLQmShd6MWVQPn1NV5Yhvo4Jw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiMkr_DlofhAhUuTt8KHSO5DbE4ChDoATAAegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=%22karoo%22%20%22rain%20shadow%22&f=false) all owe their arid characters at least in part to a phenomenon known as a rain shadow. 

Each region lies beneath the influence of one or more significant mountain ranges that block rainfall.  In each case moisture rises from the sea and endows the coastal region with lush, fertile land. But as the moisture, carried by winds, hits the mountains, it condenses, forms clouds and never makes it to the other side. Whatever moisture does make it to the other side, often evaporates in the warm air before rain hits the ground. 
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The Atacama Dessert in Chile is one of the driest places on earth.  It lies in the shadow of two ranges, the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range. The picture below shows Tebinquinche lagoon, a highly saline lake that receives its water from melting snow in the Andes.  [Travelers report](https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303681-d3373873-r190039718-Tebinquinche_Lake-San_Pedro_de_Atacama_Antofagasta_Region.html) that the water is so salty it's possible to float without trying.    

###### <center>Atacama</center>
<center>[![rain shadow Atacama Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC BY SA.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQWhzSm7MmBCZMZH6ShiESHaHa2vpe9KhAqN57q3b6ThE/rain%20shadow%20Atacama%20Diego%20Delso,%20delso.photo,%20License%20CC%20BY%20SA.jpg)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laguna_Tebinquinche,_desierto_de_Atacama,_Chile,_2016-02-06,_DD_30.jpg)</center>
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The Karoo, in South Africa, lies in the shadow of the Cape Fold Mountains.  The Upper Karoo receives about 7 inches of rain a year, but this mostly falls in the summer.  Winters see very little rain.  Other parts of the Karoo may receive as much as 15 inches a year, but once again this is seasonal and winter sees very little precipitation. 

###### <center>Karoo</center>

<center>[![rain shadow karoo Winfried Bruenken (Amrum)2.5 generic.JPG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXyFqeGxrDZk7kMVB6jcUFDyjuQFMXRLMSzpWxkJrL2nG/rain%20shadow%20karoo%20Winfried%20Bruenken%20(Amrum)2.5%20generic.JPG)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anysberg_P1020029.JPG)</center>

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Saline Valley is part of the Mojave Dessert, which lies under the influence of the Sierra Nevadas in California. Precipitation ranges from [2.23 to 2.5](http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/mojave_desert.htm) inches annually.


###### <center>Mojave, Saline Valley</center>

<center>[![rain shadow Saline Valley Palm Spring Gedstrom 3.0.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdiigL3HDqRqfuQU82RHFcKTtqcZuSQ9Mk8XgSNzyTFKy/rain%20shadow%20Saline%20Valley%20Palm%20Spring%20Gedstrom%203.0.jpg)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saline_Valley_Palm_Spring.jpg)</center>


<center>![accent accent.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTDqHVniPuLrhgLZxBCzjKQYcdiCXVL6Vp6qnRSHYWKe2/accent%20accent.jpg)</center>

##### <center>My Collage</center>
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My collage was developed from two pictures.  From  @shaka's photo I made a mirror image to create the illusion of a mountain chain.  Then I downloaded the picture of a camel caravan from Pixabay:(credit Nikola Belopitov)

<center>[![camels-2013708_1280.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVUNphvnTHkdL9ErvzuGwAQQcZVuK5ubhZBqsUpETbANP/camels-2013708_1280.jpg)](https://pixabay.com/photos/camels-caravan-desert-sand-animal-2013708/)</center>

The lower part of this picture became my foreground.  I added the camels and oasis from *Paint 3D*.  With *GIMP* I added a little sunshine, and made a GIF. 

As usual, it is challenging for me to create anything that looks like art, and always great fun.  I recommend this contest to anyone, no matter your skill level.  There's no downside to entering.  Please check out the other collages at @shaka's [blog.](https://steemit.com/letsmakeacollage/@shaka/lmac-11-new-challenge-16-sbd-prize-pool)