The Making of Death Valley
Quite a view isn't it - serene, quiet, eternal. But mountains aren't eternal -
they change continuously. Before you is a huge block of earth crust that is
slowly tilting this way. Its far edge is the rising crest of the Panamint Range,
its near edge, Death Valley's sinking floor. In relation to the valley, the Black
Mountains under you are movng to your left as well as rising. The eroding
mountains fill the valley at about the same rate as it sinks.
This fault-block basin we call Death Valley has no outlet to the sea. Minerals
washed down from the mountains are here to stay.
If you sliced deep into the earth here and exposed a cross section, you could
trace the faults where the blocks of earth crust are moving past one another.
You could also trace folds and old faults where earlier movement occurred.
This sign is found along a route which has been photographed for inclusion in
the UntraveledRoad virtual world. To see and follow the route this sign
is on, click on its image.
