Darwin Canyon/Dike & Sill
PS2d. Location/Access:(36o 18.930’N, 117o 31.649’W) From the faults (Site PS2c), continue down the canyon for 1.1 more miles. You will come to a junction. Keep left down the wash for 0.6 miles to China Garden Spring. Park near here and continue walking down the canyon for about 1/3 mile more, past the gate.
Best Time: Anytime except mid-summer.
Geology: China Garden Spring is only one of numerous outflows of groundwater in Darwin Canyon. There is water at the pump house up-canyon and just below this location Darwin Falls can be quite dramatic. Darwin Falls can be reached by hiking down the canyon from the dike/sill or up from a parking area accessed off a dirt road off of CA 190 just west of Panamint Springs. At China Garden Spring, human activity has built up ponds, a berm and the ruins of several buildings can be seen. 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 common in the mountains surrounding the northern Panamint Valley. At the GPS coordinates, you will notice a dark basalt injection that cuts across the grain of the sedimentary rocks, then follows the bedding for awhile and then cuts across the grain again. The basalt is most likely a Pliocene age injection as these are common just north of here. The sedimentary rocks are those seen at the previous sites up the canyon.
