Death Valley - RVing and Geology

The RVing geologist focuses on Death Valley and takes a look at the wonder that this California desert holds. Is it a great place to go RVing and what are the best places to camp?

Death Valley National Park

Along the eastern edge of southern California, The Panamint and Black mountain ranges border a deep valley, known as a graben. This topography represents the northern portion of the Mojave Desert and dominates Death Valley National Park. Other national places in the Mojave Desert include Lake Mead Recreation Area, Mojave National Preserve, and Joshua Tree National Park.

Death Valley National Park covers an area 130 miles north to south, and 45 miles east to west, with over 3 million acres of sub-alpine mountain ranges, sand dunes, lower-than-sea-level valleys, salt pans, playas, sweeping views, hot days (and warm nights), surprising biological diversity, and a big, dark sky.

A Land of Extremes - It’s Hot and Dry

Death Valley is known as one of the hottest places on earth, along with deserts in the Middle East and the Sahara Desert. In Furnace Creek in July 1913, a high temperature of 134°F still holds the record for the highest recorded temperature on the face of the earth. The hottest night only “cooled” to 107°F in July 2012. The ground surface at Furnace Creek has been measured at over 200°F!

Even winters are warm in the valley. Daytime temperatures in December and January are regularly near 80°F, with nighttime averaging near 40°F.

This desert valley is also pretty dry, with an average rainfall of just under two inches per year. For a comparison, the higher mountains in the park, similar to Los Angeles, average about 15 inches. Las Vegas averages about four inches. Sequoia National Forest, just 90 miles to the west (and providing one of four major mountain ranges that block rain from the ocean) receives an average of 26 inches of rainfall annually. Coupled with high temperatures, the evaporation rates are high, and result in salt pans and other quick-dry features.

Long Uphill Climb

Death Valley boasts the lowest elevations in North America, at Badwater Basin with an elevation of 282 feet below sea level. From there to the park’s highest point, Telescope Peak, it’s a climb of 11,325 feet in just 17 air-miles.

Surprising Geology

The graben that makes Death Valley a valley is a down-dropped block of land resulting from the Death Valley and Furnace Creek faults.

Although in wet periods there is water present on the surface of the Badwater salt pan, the water evaporates quickly and leaves a salty reside behind. Being a “closed basin,” no water flows out of the area to carry salts away; it is all evaporated and leaves the salt to form a crust.

Like Badwater, Racetrack Playa receives a small amount of precipitation in winter, just enough to freeze into a thin layer of ice. Pushed by strong winds, “sailing stones” weighing up to 700 pounds travel along the surface, leaving tracks up to 1,500 feet long on the ground that for years were mysterious. Even though they are now understood, they are still fascinating!

When the sand slides down the steep faces of the singing sand dunes, a lovely droning sound results. This isn’t completely understood, and can also be found at Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve.

The Badlands, most easily viewed from Zabriski Point, are full of fossils and tracks in more than 5,000 feet of sediments that are extensively eroded by wind and water movement.

Devil’s Golf Course is another flat, salty surface. The rough spiky surface the “only the devil could play golf” on is interesting because the heat causes expansion and contracting of the salt crystals, and they can be heard popping as they change.

A loop through Artists Drive reveals rocks in which natural metals have oxidized into a beautiful palette of surprising colors.

About 2,100 years ago, and possibly as recently as 300 years ago, Ubehebe Crater was formed and reformed by volcanic eruptions. Smaller eruptions and erosion have added even more interesting features to this 600-foot deep and half-mile wide crater.

Hot springs in Saline Valley have enticed visitors to endure hours of unpaved roads for a warm soak.

The night sky is another attraction of Death Valley with very little light wash so stargazing is a favorite activity.

Surprising Biology

Would you believe this hot, dry desert environment is home to two separate populations of native pupfish? Separate species of Death Valley pupfish live in Salt Creek and in Cottonball Marsh. Their ancestors swam from the Colorado River in a system of rivers and lakes that long ago dried up and isolated these pupfish oases. There are over 600 springs and ponds throughout Death Valley. This water is vital to support the wildlife, and of course particularly the fish. In fact, there is even a 100-foot waterfall, Darwin Falls, on the western edge of the park. The resulting pond supports willow and cottonwood trees, and over 80 species of birds have been identified there.

Twenty three of the more than 1,000 plant species found at Death Valley are not found anywhere else. Wildflower blooms carpet the alluvial fans, foothills, and canyons when conditions provide well-spaced rainfall, warm sunshine, and lack of wind. Seeds and roots can remain in the ground for a long time, waiting for just the right conditions. Flowers in turn attract butterflies, moths, been and birds that only visit Death Valley when the flowers are available.

Other wildlife that has adapted well to the limited fresh water include big horn sheep, tortoises, and kangaroo rats, to name just a few.

Can I RV in Death Valley?

There are actually plenty of places to RV in Death Valley, although much of it will be boondocking. The National Park System has a lot of resources on RVing in Death Valley.

While you might not want to be there in the heat of the summer the shoulder seasons can be quite hospitable and the desert landscape incredibly beautiful. Spring, in particular, is an incredible time to visit the California desert.

There are several RV parks in Death Valley, especially in the Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells areas. Many of the campgrounds are only open seasonally; check the National Park Service website for more information.

Outside the park, to the east, try Shoshone and Tecopa, where access to hot springs is also commonly available. Pahrump, over the Nevada border, is only a short distance away. To the west, Panamint Springs offers camping and a restaurant.

Here is an article from the Getaway Couple about RVing in Death Valley.