Our next stop on Saturday afternoon was the first view of Death Valley, from one of the most incredible spots accessible by motor vehicle in the world: Dante's View. It really doesn't seem like this was a place for a paved parking lot. Just the same, one begins to realize how small our technological toys are in relation to the rugged landscape visible from the viewpoint...
The panorama from the summit of the Black Mountains is indescribable. George Lucas found it so "other-worldly" that he used part of the view seen here in the original Star Wars movie in 1977. It could hardly be more alien to a bunch of students from the verdant Central Valley.
Dante's View sits at an elevation of 5,475 feet. Directly below, beneath cliffs so steep that the bottom of the slope cannot be seen, is Badwater, which at -280 feet, is the lowest point in the western hemisphere accessible by vehicle. The actual lowest point of all (-282 feet) lies several miles out in the 110 square mile salt pan.
Short explorations are possible in several directions from the parking lot at Dante's View. South looked easier...
The next project took place at Zabriskie Point. Most of the tourists were headed up to the point itself to photograph the badlands, but we were more interested in an environmental problem in the area. Northbound Furnace Creek Wash flows exceedingly close to the ridgetop separating it from the badland gulches flowing west. Since Furnace Creek Lodge was built downstream in a flood-prone locale, we explored the positive and negative impacts of actually diverting Furnace Creek into the diminutive Gower Gulch. Would it really prevent flooding? Would there be detrimental effects downstream or upstream? Were there possible alternatives? Interesting discussions ensued...
The gang came up with many insights, predictions and ominous warnings about messing with Mother Nature. We then had the instant opportunity to test all of our predictions, since the diversion had already been done...in 1941. At the other end of the parking lot, we could see the effects of sending the drainage from 170 square miles into a drainage adjusted to only 2 square miles. The effects were astounding...
Upstream, headward erosion had removed as much as 40 or 50 of sediment, threatening in many places to undercut the highway...
Below the diversion, flashfloods have carved a 60 foot deep slot canyon. The alluvial fan in Death Valley has grown dramatically. Effects on groundwater and wildlife have been harder to ascertain.
The last stop of the day, once again in the dying light, was a search for Paleozoic marine fossils just outside the east boundary of the park. How dedicated were these students? They showed me their treasures, and it was so dark I couldn't see them...
But the sky was sure pretty, even if I couldn't see the fossils any more...
We headed back to Tecopa for dinner and a good night's sleep.