Golden Canyon
Golden Canyon preserves geologic stories steeped in change. Like pages in a book, its rocks tell tales of ancient times when a lake once covered this land; they also speak of violent flash floods racing down the canyon. Golden Canyon is a fascinating showcase of the effects of water in an arid land.
Death Valley's Fan Club
Before you enter the canyon, look across Death Valley toward the Panamint Mountains. Great aprons of rocky debris partially bury this majestic range in its own eroded remains. Deposited by periodic floods, this blanket of sediment is actually composed of many individual, fan-shaped deposits that radiate from the mouth of each mountain canyon. Geologists come from throughout the world to study these magnificent alluvial fans.
Flash floods emerge from the narrow mouth of Golden Canyon and suddenly spread out into the open valley below. As the torrent slows, the water rapidly dumps its mixture of silt, gravel and cobbles. Imagine the size of the floods required to move the larger boulders! Although these dynamic fans shift with each flood, their basic patterns remain consistant.
< Previous - Next >
| GLOSSARY | > alluvial fan, arid, canyon, flash flood, geologic, sediments, , |
GOLDEN CANYON GEOLOGY TRAIL
click the photo to continue
The mouth of Golden Canyon
Boulders and cobbles at the top of the fan