Barker Ranch, Mining ranch in Death Valley National Park, United States

Barker Ranch is a roughly 2-hectare (5-acre) abandoned property in Goler Wash, a canyon on the western slope of the Panamint Range at almost 1,000 metres above sea level. The photograph shows a small weathered concrete building with an open doorway, a partly collapsed wall of pale plastered concrete and dark rough stones with a rectangular opening, a low line of loose light-coloured rocks, and a large pale flat-faced remnant wall behind the rubble.

Bluch and Helen Thomason founded the property in 1940 as a storage facility for mining work. The Barker family purchased it in 1956 and gave it its current name.

The property reflects how people moved to California deserts between the 1930s and 1950s seeking distance from cities and simpler living. Today visitors see the traces of this movement in the modest buildings and remote setting.

The property sits at the end of Goler Wash and requires experienced off-road driving to navigate boulder-filled terrain and tight turns. Visitors should have a sturdy vehicle and solid driving skills to safely reach the remote site.

Charles Manson was found hiding under the bathroom sink when officers raided the ranch on 12 October 1969. The sheriff, highway patrol and park rangers had come to investigate vandalism, not a murder suspect. In early 1970 Robert Hendrickson filmed family members at the site for his Oscar-nominated documentary Manson.