Geology 35, field trip 9: the Racetrack and northern Death Valley

Geology 35 D, Field Geology: California.
Santa Monica College, Spring 2011

Images from the Spring 2011 field trip to

Death Valley National Park

Group photo: Darwin post office

Field Trip Leader: Dr. Alessandro Grippo

The Geology 35 D class (Field Geology: California) at Santa Monica College went to DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
from April 29 to May 1, 2011 to explore one of its most remote and mysterious areas: the Racetrack.

Along the way we stopped and looked at some of the most characteristic features of the Basin and Range desert.

We camped in lonely and beautiful Panamint Valley and used it as our base
to roam throughout the northern part of the park.

Below are a few pictures that document our adventure.

As usual, the first stop and the meeting point out of Santa Monica
is at Red Rock Canyon State Park.
Lacustrine sediments, oxidation, and faulting were among the first things the class discussed.

At Fossil Falls we talked about the ancient landscape of pluvial Owens Valley,
glaciations, climate change, and volcanic eruptions.

The nearby Red Hill provided further evidence for recent volcanic activity.
On that day, a persistently strong wind had created beautiful sand dunes of various color,
with smaller-scale ripples on their flanks.

Further down the road, we stopped along the southern banks of Owens Lake.
The 2010-2011 winter has been very wet, and that shows in the still relatively abundant water present in the lake,
a basin that is normally dry by the end of April.

We wished we could have walked on the salt at this point
but we could only stare from across the barbed wire.
We decided that a future "salt" trip could be a lot of fun.

Of course we were being watched at all times!

So we left the salt water basin and headed for a fresh water desert oasis:
a few miles on a high-c learance road, followed by a short hike,
took us to Darwin Falls, a green, lush and pleasant surprise at the bottom of a hidden canyon.

We drove on California 190 to get to our campground in the Panamint Valley playa.
This is a view of 190 crossing the playa, in the general vicinity of the area where we camped.

After a terribly windy Friday night, during which most of us were not even able (or willing) to set up our tents,
on Saturday morning the light was magnificent and we were able to catch a glimpse
of the only seemingly close Panamint Dunes.
These dunes are actually about 5 miles from where we camped.

Breakfast was a nice time to socialize,
whether around a table or on top of a truck.

This is Stovepipe Wells, the western entrance to Death Valley proper.
We had to go below sea level to take this picture!

At Mesquite Sand Dunes we wandered through the sand,
exploring different sedimentary structures
and discovering several patterns of animal tracks.

We HAD to stop at the Teakettle Junction on our way to the Racetrack.
We wish we had our own SMC teakettle to hang, as a memento of this trip.
That is one reason why we need to go back at some point.

An isolated hill, made of igneous rocks, in the middle of a dry lake bed.
This is the Grand Stand of the Racetrack, jutting out of the cracked mud-covered playa.

Of course, stones seem to be moving really fast at the Racetrack.
This is not the Grand Stand viewpoint, but it sure looks interesting!

Some of the stones seem like cars that need to warm up before the race.
These guys left faint tracks at the edge of the Racetrack, before getting in the middle with all the others.

The group of survivors on Saturday evening, at the edge of Ubehebe Crater at sunset.
As they use to say on some current tv show, they really are ruggedly handsome, aren't they?

Just imagine the sediment-laden stream that runs through Mosaic Canyon during the rainy season!

Part of the group in Mosaic Canyon.

This is the end of the hile in Mosaic Canyon.
There were indicators that somebody tried to climb this cliff, but we were happy with what we achieved.

I wish to thank our Department Chair, Vicki Drake for her strong support
and in general the whole Department of Earth Sciences at Santa Monica College.

I also wish to thank the National Park Service administration,
and Death Valley National Park personnel in particular, for welcoming us into the park.

Finally, I wish to thank all of the students that participated to this Spring 2011 field class and made it great.
Hopefully, we can do it again!

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