Death Valley

Emily McRae
U13454467

Death Valley has a remarkable and unique history. With a rock record of about
half the age of Earth, we can see that is has undergone many changes over time and is
vastly different now than it was in the past.
The history of Death Valley that we know of begins about 1.8 billion years ago,
around the mid-Precambrian, in the Proterozoic, with the remains of ancient volcanoes.
This is the beginning of known Death Valley history because these rocks are all
metamorphic rock, bent and melted into new rocks from their unidentified parent rocks.
These rocks underwent metamorphosis likely due to the pressure of accumulating
overlying rocks and the internal heat from the Earth. At some point during the late
Precambrian, approximately 1.4 billion years ago, these overlying rocks mustve been
eroded or moved somewhere, but no one is sure where, because the metamorphosed
basement rock is uplifted. This time period shows a Death Valley very unfamiliar to what
we see today; a time of shallow, tropical seas and carbonate sediment deposit. There was
the formation of limestone and dolomite, much like we see in Florida. Since this was the
time when early life forms were beginning to come into being, there was the presence of
stromatolites created by algae living in the seas. Death Valley had periods where it would
rise above sea level, and then drop again. These alternating periods formed what is called
the Pahrump group of rocks consisting of sandstone, carbonates, and conglomerate. It is
possible that there was glaciation occurring during this time, because geologists have
found strange boulders scattered about. This could be explained by dropping
temperatures caused by new life forms performing photosynthesis, and lowering CO2
levels, creating a green house effect and blocking UV rays. A notable stop in the

Precambrian time is the Mosaic Canyon. Here you can see the recorded history of the
Precambrian because the walls are made of carbonate and limestone, because this area
was once below a shallow sea. Later, magnesium was added changing the rocks to
dolomite. Even later in its history, these rocks were buried by sediments, and underwent
metamorphosis, turning them into beautiful marble. The walls were eventually carved out
by rivers, giving them the appearance they have today.
The late Precambrian to early Cambrian time is a time of little activity for Death
Valley. It is covered in water and will remain this way for about 100 million years,
collecting mud and sediments. The rocks are widely exposed though, so there is a very
good record. We can see burrows from worms, ripples from currents, and mud cracks.
There is not yet a mountain range and the shoreline is located near modern day Las
Vegas. The current is redistributing the sandbars across the ocean floor. During this time,
streams are eroding granite not far east of Death Valley at a high rate because there are no
land plants yet. Quartz and feldspar are abundant in the sandstone because of this erosion.
Towards the late Cambrian to the Permian time, these mudflats begin to be covered with
carbonate from decaying corals, algae, shellfish, and other early life forms. This layer
gets covered in sediment, forming a layer of limestone and dolomite 2 miles thick, which
can be seen today in various spots around Death Valley, such as Pyramid Peak, where it
can be seen as dark and light bands. Death Valley at this time is located very near the
equator, within about 10-20 percent, so it has a very warm and tropical climate. Erosion
is so high at this time that rivers are running clear. The sediments all even out on the
carbonate rich ocean floor, and the coastline is trending to the northeast. There are also
very large reefs at this time, the position of which fluctuated, which formed a sort of

barrier around the carbonate platform of the ocean. There were two unconformities in the
carbonate at this time. The first, about 450 million years ago, for unknown reasons, a
400ft thick sheet of Eureka Quartzite covered the carbonate and can be seen today on the
summit of Pyramid Peak. The second unconformity, which occurred about 350-250
million years ago, would be a warning to marine life of this time of future thrust faulting
that would drastically change their environment. Moving southward into Death Valley
came sporadic pulses of mud. My favorite stop during the Paleozoic was Titus Canyon,
where limestone and stromatolites formed during this time are exposed and visible.
The Mesozoic is a time of great change for Death Valley. To the west, the North
American tectonic plate collides with the Pacific plate. The Pacific plate subducted below
the North American plate, forming a deep ocean trench and a chain of actively erupting
volcanoes along the coast. These erupting volcanoes push the coastline west, and Death
Valley is no longer along the coast. Mountains are uplifting and rocks are being
metamorphosed. Huge rock layers and being pushed and contorted eastward and some
entire rock layers are even moved over top of younger rock layers. There is also the
formation of granites during this time due to cooling and solidifying magma chambers.
One of these granites is the origin of the mining town Skidoo.
During the Cenozoic time, after all this volcanism and faulting settles down,
Death Valley undergoes a period of weathering. It is now an area of low relief. But in the
Miocene time, faulting begins again, only this time it is extensional faulting instead of
compressional. Approximately 30 million years ago, the spreading of the Pacific and
Farllon Plate intersect with the subduction zone, and the Farllon plate splits in two. The
San Andreas strike-slip fault is the remaining pieces of the subduction zone. For reasons

unknown, this change caused the area between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the
Colorado Plateau to widen. This area is known as the Basin and Range region. In this
region mountain blocks were being uplifted and moved, and valleys are forming. It is also
observed that entire mountain ranges were being stacked on other mountain ranges,
moving to different locations, and sliding pieces of mountain off the top to form the
mountain ranges we see today. As mountains slide apart, the valley floors drop between
them, and this is generally how the modern appearance of Death Valley came to be.
Despite the mountains being very old, their locations there are very young. One stop
through the Cenozoic time where you can see the geological activities that were going on
at this time is Dantes view. This is the highest peak in Death Valley where you can see
the way that mountain ranges were spreading apart and valleys forming in between.
Death Valley has most definitely be affected by human activity and settlement.
Since Death Valley is located in the middle of desert, it is as desirable spot to settle for
people in that area. The springs in Death Valley get their water form an aquifer that
developed during the Pleistocene ice-age era, when the climate was cooler and wetter.
The climate now is not equipped to recharge the aquifer when it begins to run dry, so
humans using it to support large amounts of people, agriculture, and other things, is not
something that can be maintained for long. Las Vegas even reaches into the Death Valley
aquifer. There is also the matter of land development, which cuts into the landscape and
alters it. There is no good solution to this, because humans need to settle somewhere and
they will need water. An alternate source of water for when it runs out should be at hand
and regulations should be put into place as to how much of it can be used. However, the
effects that this will have on the Death Valley landscape are unknown at this time, but

likely irreversible so long as humans are living there. The last significant lake in Death
Valley, which was about 30ft deep, evaporated more than 2000 years ago. Its ghost can
still be seen today in the vast array of salt crystals that make up the Devils Golf Course.
This is literally a place where the ground is covered with three to five feet of almost pure
table salt. While I cant say that this is a positive or negative attribute to the landscape of
Death Valley, I can say that it is a very interesting place, and perhaps if it were not there,
water would not dry up so quickly and another lake would be able to form.
Death Valley has a very long and interesting history. It underwent periods of
drastic change through time to reach the point that it is today, and while much can be
deduced about the way that it formed, there is still much left to be understood.