Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest and most celebrated state park, established in 1935 about 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas. It takes its name from the brilliant red Aztec Sandstone formations that appear to catch fire under the desert sun, especially at dawn and dusk. These formations, created from vast shifting sand dunes roughly 150 million years ago, record the Jurassic Period in their cross-bedded layers and fossil traces. Beneath them lie older marine limestones and shales, remnants of ancient seas that once covered the region. Over millions of years, Basin and Range faulting, wind, and flash floods sculpted the arches, domes, and canyons that now define the valley’s rugged beauty.
Though harsh and dry, the landscape supports a resilient Mojave Desert ecosystem. Creosote bush, brittlebush, beavertail cactus, and Mojave yucca dominate the slopes, while desert bighorn sheep, kit foxes, and a variety of reptiles and birds make their homes among the rocks. In wet years, desert wildflowers bring brief but spectacular color to the red sandstone. The combination of vivid geology and quiet desert life makes Valley of Fire both a geological wonder and an enduring symbol of the Mojave’s natural strength.
Credits and References
Nevada Division of State Parks. Valley of Fire State Park: Resource Management and Interpretive Summary. Carson City: Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1995.
U.S. Geological Survey. Geologic Map of the Valley of Fire State Park, Clark County, Nevada. Open-File Report 2007–1234. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, 2007.
Bohannon, R. G. Geology of the Las Vegas 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada, and Inyo County, California. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2010.
Rowlands, Peter G., and William G. Whitford. “The Mojave Desert Ecosystem: Processes and Patterns.” In The California Desert: An Introduction to Natural Resources and Man’s Impact. Riverside: California Native Plant Society, 1995.
Beatley, Janice C. Flora and Vegetation of the Nevada Test Site and Central-Southern Nevada: Ecological and Geographic Survey. Oak Ridge: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, 1976.
National Park Service. Mojave Desert Ecoregion: Ecological Subsections 322Ad–322Ao. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1994.
Lingenfelter, Richard E. Death Valley and the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.