olden Canyon preserves geologic stories closely at the walls of the canyon, you will see a steeped in change. Like pages in a book, coating of mud that indicates the height of the Long Gone Lake G it’s rocks tell tales of ancient times when water that has moved through these narrows. 4 As you walk up Golden Canyon, you a lake once covered this land; they also speak of Flash floods like these have been shaping the travel through an ancient, changing landscape. violent flash floods racing down the canyon. canyons of Death Valley for millions of years. Look closely at the rocks exposed in the Golden Canyon is a fascinating showcase of the canyon walls. The conglomerate layers effects of water in an arid land. containing large boulders have given way to Former Fans light-colored deposits of silt and clay. Such Before You Start... 2 Look closely at the rock exposed in the fine-grained sediment typifies debris deposited canyon walls. Notice that the layers are at the bottom of a calm lake. These mudstones Before you enter the canyon, look across Death composed of sediment that ranges in size from are thought to be of similar age to the Valley toward the Panamint Mountains. Great boulders to fine-grained sand and silt. Does it conglomerate described at Stop 3. In crossing aprons of rocky debris partially bury this majestic remind you of the debris at the canyon’s mouth? the boundary between these different rock range in its own eroded remains. Deposited by Estimated to be about five million years old, these layers, you have walked across an alluvial fan periodic floods, this blanket of sediment is rocks tell of a former alluvial fan. Burial and and into a lake! actually composed of many individual, fan- cementation transformed the loose material into shaped deposits that radiate from each mountain a solid conglomerate. Subsequent uplift and Ripples in Time canyon. Geologists come from throughout the erosion have exposed these deposits. world to study these magnificent alluvial fans. Imagine standing at the edge of the lake What was the source for the material that 5 that once covered this area. Light sparkles off And you are standing on one. Flash floods composes these older alluvial fans? These layers shimmering water, and shorebirds skitter through emerge from the narrow mouth of Golden Canyon of conglomerate become thinner farther to the the shallows. Small waves gently lap at the shore, and suddenly spread out into the open valley east, suggesting they eroded from mountains to forming ripples in the loose sand. Amazing! It below. As the torrent slows, the water rapidly the west. Within this conglomerate is the story was so different than Death Valley today! dumps its mixture of silt, sand, gravel and cobbles. of a former landscape that predated Golden Imagine the size of the floods required to move Canyon and the dramatic basin of Death Valley. Examine the surfaces of the tilted rock layers in the larger boulders! Although these dynamic the canyon walls around you. Do you observe fans shift with each flood, their basic patterns the undulating pattern? These ripple marks remain consistent. The Restless Earth formed at the lakeshore about five million years 3 What existed before Death Valley? The ago. Preservation of their delicate pattern required rocks of Golden Canyon provide evidence of an rapid burial beneath another layer of sediment. older basin. The tilted layers surrounding you In other places in Death Valley, fascinating fossil An Abrasive Situation were nearly horizontal when they were initially footprints of large mammals are exposed in such 1 The flat, dark layer in front of you is not deposited. Why do these layers tilt so steeply lake deposits. a natural geologic formation. A road once entered now? Movement along the major faults of Death Golden Canyon, but what has destroyed the Valley has created a large fold centered near the Salt of the Earth pavement here? In February 1976, a four-day Texas Springs Campground. In the process, these storm dropped 2.3 inches (5.7cm) of rain at basin sediments have been uplifted and tilted, 6 In this section of canyon wall, you can Furnace Creek. On the last day of the storm, a and erosion now carries sediment out to a new see deposits of white minerals. These delicate violent downpour caused a surge of water, mud, valley floor. Tilted layers of rock are relatively crystals grew as mineral-laden water evaporated. and rock to flow through these narrows. common in Death Valley; tortured rocks have Please treat the crystals with care so other hikers can see them too. Such sediment-laden floods work like sandpaper, been fractured, faulted, and folded because of cutting away and undermining the rocky canyon the dynamic tectonic activity that continues to Mineral deposits similar to these are currently walls. In narrows such as these, floodwaters are shape this restless land. forming on the floor of Death Valley. Water carries constricted and the speed increases. If you look dissolved sodium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, boron and other elements from the surrounding mountains. The arid climate rapidly evaporates Red Cathedral water from the valley floor, concentrating these 9 Notice the change from the relatively elements into new minerals such as halite (table gentle yellow slopes in the foreground to the Golden salt), gypsum, and borax. Observe these steeper red cliffs beyond. More resistant to interesting formations at the salt flats near erosion than the soft yellow mudstone, the rocks Badwater or the Devil’s Golf Course. of Red Cathedral form steep cliffs. These cliffs are composed of conglomerate similar to that Canyon A Recipe For Badlands exposed near the mouth of Golden Canyon, and they are also the debris of a former alluvial fan. trail guide 7 Why are these hills so barren? Extreme Oxidation of iron creates the red color, like the heat is only part of the answer. The story of these process that forms rust. For an impressive view “badlands” begins and ends with water. These of Red Cathedral’s fluted walls, hike another ¼ lakebed deposits contain impermeable clay, so mile up the main wash, keeping to the right at any rainfall quickly moves downhill. In addition, forks in the drainage. the combination of steep slopes and sporadic As you continue your exploration of the but intense storms increases rapid surface run- rugged mountains, canyons, salt flats, and other off. Nature’s way of efficiently removing so much landforms of Death Valley National Park, notice water is the formation of the numerous gullies the many geologic clues that are clearly exposed and ravines that characterize the badlands. in this desert land. As you have seen here in Unable to survive in this inhospitable Golden Canyon, processes working today have environment, plants are limited to the gravel also been working in the past. These same washes and banks. For the plants, these hills are processes will continue into the future, shaping indeed bad land. and changing this dynamic landscape. It’s All Downhill Beyond Golden Canyon Entering a canyon during a rare desert 8 Hikers wanting to continue beyond Golden rainstorm can be dangerous. Besides the threat Canyon have several options. From the end of of flash floods, falling rocks can be an unexpected andering through twisting narrows and the interpretive trail (Stop 10), a marked trail leads hazard. Rocks loosened by rainwater tumble off Wcolorful rock formations, this self- to Zabriskie Point. This will be a total of 2.5 cliffs and steep slopes, crashing toward the guided, interpretive trail leads to a spectacular miles (4 km) one-way from the parking lot with a narrow canyon bottom. Hikers beware! view of Manly Beacon and Red Cathedral. total elevation gain of 950 feet (290m). Come rain or shine, rocks are destined to make Another option off this side trail is to follow their way to lower elevations. Water and gravity Distance: ........... 2 miles (3.2 km) round trip Gower Gulch back down to the valley. Some work together to move the rock, but other forces Elevation Gain: ... 300 feet (91m) rock scrambling is required to climb down two can help start the process. Regional stresses dry falls. A path from the mouth of Gower Gulch Difficulty: .......... The gradual and steady fracture the rock, and deposits of salt within the heads north along the base of the mountains back uphill grade is rocky and uneven, so please cracks may grow and expand to further break the to the parking lot. This entire loop is 4 miles (6.4 walk carefully. Sturdy shoes are advised. rock apart. As large blocks of rock are broken up, km) round trip and gains a total of 500 feet (152m). Warnings: .......... On hot days, be sure to water and gravity are able to transport the smaller carry and drink plenty of water. pieces more easily. Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park.