Week 7 - Golden Canyon, Death Valley - Kyle Quirk

This week I've decided to visit Golden Canyon in Death Valley National Park.  The rocks here tell a storied history of a lake that once covered the area and ferocious flash floods.  Walking through Golden Canyon you'll see the traces of the alluvial fans created by violent flash foods in an area composed of mostly clay and narrow pathways, causing the water to not drain and to gain speed.  As you progress through Golden Canyon you will find evidence of a long gone lake, where you can see the conglomerate layers of containing large boulders that give way to silt and clay -- this is evidence of a calm lake.  As the water evaporated it left mineral-laden deposits that can be seen in the crystals of the canyon wall.

Golden Canyon - Gower Gulch
NPS - Dan Kish
https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/golden-canyon.htm