Panamint Springs Area (PS)

Stops PS1 and PS2 are just west of the Panamint Springs Resort. This whole region was added to Death Valley National Park in 1994 when Death Valley was converted from the smaller (but still large) national monument to its present status as a national park. Site PS1 is easy to get to with most any vehicle and the 4 places listed under Site PS2 are best accessed with high clearance. The shorter, back way to Panamint Springs from Site PS2 requires four-wheel-drive. Most people will access Site PS2 through the semi-ghost town of Darwin. The mines and mineral relationships of the Darwin area can be found on two classic reports: Hall and MacKevett (1958) and Hall and Stevens (1963). Much of the latter work includes portions of Death Valley National Park.

PS1. Father Crowley Viewpoint

This is a good place to view the northern Panamint Valley, the west side of the Cottonwood and northern Panamint Mountains and the ...

PS2. Darwin Canyon

a. folds

These highly folded rocks are severely weathered and in some places the folding is not obvious. The folds are ...

b. angular unconformity

This remarkably clear textbook example of an angular unconformity is described in detail ...

c. faults

There are many faults that cut through the rocks in Darwin Canyon. Some are reverse and thrust faults probably related to ...

d. dike & sill

On the hike to the dike/sill note a large outcrop of epidote on the left canyon wall. This is related to the Mesozoic granitic intrusions which are ...