Death Valley

Death Valley

Again, I found myself with the urge to go explore another area on my bucket list, Death Valley.  Located in Eastern California, in the northern part of the Mojave Desert.  Making sure to find a good hat and lots of water, Death Valley is one of the hottest places in the world.  At its most intense temperatures it can find itself just as hot as some of the deserts of the Middle East.  On my list today, there are three places that I plan to see within Death Valley.  Those places are Split cinder cone, Artists Drive, and the Devils golf course.  I’m excited to see what geological features I will find today!

The first place on my list is Split cinder cone.  After reading some history about this place I found out that less than 300,000 years ago a chamber beneath Death Valley burst out of the ground due to weakness in the Earths crust.  As the magma spued out of the earth at 2200F it left a cone shape made out of cinders.  I could see evidence of the basaltic rock that had been spued out of the ground.  It makes me wonder about what happened even beneath the earth.  Was this a current hotspot?  This is something that I would like to further investigate. I’m also curious what type of plate activity is in this area since a lot of volcanic activity usually is due to this.

The next stop was Artist’s Drive.  The first thing that came to my mind was fold mountains.  I’m not sure if there is any subducting of plates in the current area but I am going to request a geological map to be able to rule this in or out.  An unnoticeable feature was the multicolored rock.  As I made my way closer, I could see volcanic ash deposits which lead me to believe that these formations could be due to more volcanic activity here in the valley.  I also noticed the sand and gravel which leads me to believe that there may have been lots of flooding due to the layering of these stones.  Lastly the desert varnish was easy to see when I picked up and saw the underside of one of the smaller boulders.

The last place to visit on my list was the Devil’s Golf Course.  There is nothing quite like seeing a sea of salt.  I got thirsty just by looking at it!  I could hear the popping coming from the salt crystals bursting due to the rising temperatures.  It was obvious that this place was once a large body of water that must have evaporated.  I could see the different shapes and arcing that had been created.  I also couldn’t help but notice the different colors of the salt. Some bright white and others with a pink hue.  I could see areas of erosion that the rain and wind must have caused.  I couldn’t help but wonder when the water dried up?  Do these crystals still form?

My trip to Death Valley was an entertaining one!  I can’t wait to get back to the lab and research what I have found.  There are many questions that I am looking forward to getting the answers too.

Reference

https://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deva/devaft.html