[Pacific Coast View] / [Gibson Beach, Pt. Lobos, Monterey Coast]

The sandy beach, rocky cliffs, rolling hills, and cypress trees of Monterey County provided a splendid landscape for Carleton Watkins during his excursion to photograph the San Carlos Borromeo mission at Carmel. This view presents Gibson Beach, located at the southernmost edge of Point Lobos, on a sunny afternoon devoid of fog. The clarity of Watkins's image allows every detail of the rocky coast to be deciphered, from the delicate cypress trees lining the distant ridge to the wet sand in the foreground.