Even against this backdrop, the Alvord is extraordinarily dry, sitting in a triple rain shadow created by the Coast Range, the Cascades and Steens Mountain.
Before the 1960s Imja was a glacier, but a recent temperature increase in the Himalayan region melted it into a substantial lake, which glistens under the shadow of the awe-inspiring Everest range.
Although Lloyd's in its present incarnation is a shadow if its former self, its geographic reach and the range of policies that it can offer are still formidable.