Week 7 - Death Valley

Zabriskie Point

Badlands topography

Photo by Paul Stone, USGS.

This photo is of the badlands at Zabriskie point. According to the USGS these badlands are made up of mudstone, formed in ancient lakes from compressed sediment. I am curious as to why the color at the peak of this formation is different from the rest of it. Could it be the original sediment that has not been washed away yet or was never compressed as much? Stains from stationary water? I would need more detailed pictures or samples from the top and bottom.

Golden Canyon Stop 6

 

White bands of evaporite minerals in mudstone beds. Photo by M. Moreno, USGS. 

This is a photo of evaporate minerals that are the result of water evaporating and leaving behind minerals that have flowed down from the surrounding mountains over time, similar to how salt flats are formed. I am curious about what this could tell us of the make up of the lakes during different time periods - possible insight into the climate of the time, or at least what minerals were on the tops of the mountains during the time of their formation. Do 'halite (table salt), gypsum, and borax" imply different things about the climate or geograpgy during that time period?

Shoreline Butte

 Shorelines etched into northeast flank of Shoreline Butte. Photo by Marli Miller.

These are terraces etched into the side of Shoreline Butte by the ancient Lake Manly during the Pleistocene era. I am curious to see the variation in sizes of each terrace. Perhaps that could tell us of for how long the lake stayed at that level before the lake grew shallower. It could paint a picture of the life of the lake. It would help to see it in person or a detailed topographic map which included the terraces. .