Abdullah Alburaidi - week 7 Death Valley

I visited the Death Valley virtually to gather the information that can be used to construct a geological map. The three areas that interested me were The Racetrack, The Charlie Brown Outcrop and The Badwater.

The Racetrack stop is very attractive it is made up of rocks moving in weird directions. It is said to be a lake-bed that dried up (U.S National Park Service, 01). I would like to know what makes the rock move and the period of time it takes for the rocks to move because they are not in a constant motion. Gathering information on the classification of the moving rocks and the forces that are responsible for rock movement will help me answer the questions.

(Mysterious moving rocks, 2016)

 The Charlie Brown Outcrop is an interesting stop as it is a distinct road-cut that shows a volcanic band that is black in color (Tarman and Jessey 15). I would like to know how the band came to be and why it is black in color. Information that can help me answer my question is getting background details on volcanoes that take place of rock outcrops.

The Badwater comprises of the valley`s oldest rocks. The rocks are what remain of the volcanic mountain that was in existence many years ago (Tarman and Jessey 12). There are also salty remnants on the area that draws a lot of questions. My question is “How the salt crystals did come to be?” To answer my question, I will gather background information on the features surrounding the salt bed and learn about various ways that salt crystals are formed.

A geological map will give me the location of important surrounding features that will help me answer all the questions at the three chosen stops.

Reference

Mysterious moving rocks: U.S National Park Service. "The Racetrack." NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service), 25 Sept. 2016, www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/the-racetrack.htm.

Tarman, D., and D. Jessey. "Cal Poly Geology Club Death Valley Field Trip – 2004." Geological Sciences, www.cpp.edu/~sci/geological- sciences/docs/careers/DVT2004.pdf. Accessed 27 Apr. 2019.

U.S National Park Service. "The Racetrack." NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service), 25 Sept. 2016, www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/the-racetrack.htm.