The Black Place: In the Footsteps of Georgia O’Keeffe

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The Black Place in Lybrook Badlands

Abstract Geology and Historic Trails in the Lybrook Badlands

Finding the "Black Place" isn't as simple as punching an address into Google Maps or your GPS unit. It’s a name that carries weight mainly among those who study the life and art of Georgia O’Keeffe. After doing a good bit of research, I tracked down this isolated pocket hidden within the vast expanse of the Lybrook Badlands in northwestern New Mexico.

The drive in is an exercise in stark contrast. The bad news hits as soon as you near the location: active oil and gas extraction operations have been recently put in place in the enclosed plateau plateau. But the good news quickly takes over. Despite the nearby industrial footprint, the core, dramatic topography of the area remains largely untouched, preserving the wildly eroded terrain that drew O’Keeffe here decades ago.

The actual "Black Place" occupies only a few acres within the broader expanse of the Lybrook Badlands, yet its visual impact is staggering. During the 1940s, O'Keeffe was so enamored with these desolate, dark-hued hills that she returned year after year to set up camp in the extreme heat and cold. She wasn't alone out here in the dirt; she was accompanied by her friend, companion, and estate manager, Maria Chabot. Chabot pitched the tents, hauled supplies, cooked meals over open fires, and kept the camp running so O’Keeffe could focus entirely on painting the dark, undulating seams of shale and coal. Gazing at these same slopes, I quickly understood why they put up with the dust and harsh weather.

Geologically, the Lybrook Badlands are part of the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation. Millions of years of wind and water have stripped away softer soils to expose banded layers of dark carbonaceous shale, black coal seams, and pale ash deposits. In this image, rendered in high-contrast black and white, the dustings of snow accentuate the steep drainage lines and sharp V-shaped gullies cut into the dark hillsides. The light snow acts like powdered chalk, highlighting every fracture and geometric fold in the earth that might otherwise blend into a monotone shadow.

Capturing abstract landscape geometry requires isolating shapes from the chaotic whole. By focusing on the dramatic vertical diagonal convergence of the dark ridges against the snow-filled troughs, the scene transforms into an almost graphic architectural study. It’s a privilege to stand on the same ground where American modernism found some of its rawest inspiration, recording the timeless dialog between light, dark, and raw earth.

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