Death Valley Geology
The landscape is so varied and extreme, one cannot help to wonder what events have taken place to create such an environment. From Badwater, the lowest point in the western hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level, to the 11,049 foot high Telescope Peak, this rugged topography, as well as sand dunes, volcanic craters and flood-carved canyons indicate a lengthy and complex geologic history.| GLOSSARY | > canyon, dunes, geologic, volcanic, |
Geology Overview
Ancient Seas
Death Valley's rocks, structure and landforms offer a wealth of ...Warped Mountains
Time passed and the sea began to slowly recede to the west as land was ...Traveling Volcanos
The next phase in Death Valley's development was primarily influenced by ...Basin and Range
Approximately three million years ago, the dynamics of crustal movement ...Erosion and Deposit
Water carries rocks, sand and gravel down from surrounding ...Lost Lakes
During North America's last major Ice Age, the valley was ...Yesterday's Volcano
Recent signs of volcanic activity exist in northern Death Valley at ...Shape of the Future
... and will continue to change a long time after ...Featured Geology
The Mystery of the Racetrack Playa
The level surface of this parched basin provides the backdrop for one of Death Valley's most intriguing geological puzzles, the mysterious sliding rocks of ...Fire & Water - Ubehebe Crater
... searing basaltic magma rose upward. A fault along the western base of Tin Mountain, ...Dante's View
Here, steep, elongate mountain ranges alternate with flat, arid, desert valleys in a pattern that ...Badwater Basin
Beneath the dark shadows of the Black Mountains, a great, extraordinarily flat expanse of shimmering white spreads out before you. You are at Badwater, ...Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon's polished marble walls are carved from the Noonday Dolomite and other Precambrian carbonate rocks. These rock formations...Golden Canyon
Like pages in a book, its rocks tell tales of ancient times when a lake once covered ...Alluvial Fans
Rising almost halfway up the steep mountain front of the Panamints are great aprons of rocky debris that spread out toward the deep ...Walk Through Time
The sample rocks in this tour are only "some" of the major geologic formations ...Death Valley Regional Geology
California/Nevada Regional Geology Field Trip Guide.
Badwater with Telescope Peak in background