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Death Valley National Park (continued)

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Route: Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Alabama Hills - Mt Whitney, Joshua Tree, Santa Cruz Island-Pacific Coast Highway, San Diego.
Places: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Daylight Pass Rd, Titus Canyon Road, White Pass, Titanothere Canyon, Red Pass, Titus Canyon, Klare Spring, Petroglyhs, Titus Canyon Narrows, Scotty's Castle Road, Ubehebe, Aprons of rock.
Wildlife & flora: Creosote bush, Cellar beetle, Cottontop barrel cactus, Beavertail cactus.




Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes


The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are at the northern end of the valley floor and are nearly surrounded by mountains on all sides. Due to their easy access from the road and the overall proximity of Death Valley to Hollywood, these dunes have been used to film sand dune scenes for several movies including films in the Star Wars series. The largest dune is called Star Dune and is relatively stable and stationary because it is at a point where the various winds that shape the dunes converge. The depth of the sand at its crest is 130–140 feet (40–43 m) but this is small compared to other dunes in the area that have sand depths of up to 600–700 feet (180–210 m) deep.
The primary source of the dune sands is probably the Cottonwood Mountains which lie to the north and northwest. The tiny grains of quartz and feldspar that form the sinuous sculptures that make up this dune field began as much larger pieces of solid rock.
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Cellar beetle

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Going towards Titus Canyon

on Daylight Pass Rd, crossing the border California-Nevada












Look at the little white "body", black "head" "penguin" stones



Entering Titus Canyon Road



From Highway 374 the one-way road heads west across the Amargosa Valley and climbs into the Grapevine Mountains. 





Elephants Stone






White Pass and Titanothere Canyon



Right before the road climbs to Red Pass is the White Pass which enters the upper Titanothere Canyon. Colorful rock deposits along this section contain fossil beds from Eocene to Oligocene times, 30-35 million years ago, when there was an open savannah filled with prehistoric horses, giant rodents and beavers and massive mammals named titanotheres, one of them, an 8-foot rhino-like thitanothere whose fossil skull was discovered here in 1933, thus the name of the canyon.
Life reconstruction of Protitanops curryi







Mile 9.7 with Thimble Peak on the left. Elev 6,381' / 1,945 m.





Red Pass


5,250' divide between Titanothere and Titus Canyons

A symphony of colors in all directions, the literally RED road is a beauty to drive, right on the edge.
The sun plays the music of its rays on the colors of the mountains.
This is indeed one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Death Valley is the valley where you would like to die and live for eternity.
















Titus Canyon

From Wikipedia: Although the Grapevine Mountains (named for the wild grapes in the area) were uplifted relatively recently, most of the rocks that make up the range are over half a billion years old. The gray rocks lining the walls of the western end of Titus Canyon are Cambrian age (570–505 million years old) limestone. These ancient Paleozoic rocks formed at a time when the Death Valley area was submerged beneath tropical seas. By the end of the Precambrian, the continental edge of North America had been planed off by erosion to a gently rounded surface of low relief. The rise and fall of the Cambrian seas periodically shifted the shoreline eastward, flooding the continent, then regressed westward, exposing the limestone layers to erosion.
The sediments have since been upturned, upfolded (forming anticlines), downfolded (forming synclines) and folded back onto themselves (forming recumbent folds).
Although some of the limestone exposed in the walls of Titus Canyon originated from thick mats of algae (stromatolites) that thrived in the warm, shallow Death Valley seas, most of the gray limestone shows little structure. Thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) of this limey goo were deposited in the Death Valley region. Similar limestone layers may be seen at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. At one of the bends in the canyon, megabreccia can be seen.










The Mojave Desert is rich with cacti and succulent species, yet in Death Valley National Park they are scarce due to the extremes of heat, dryness and soil salinity. Even so, cactus grow from an elevation of 400 feet above sea level to the summits of the surrounding mountains.

The cactus species most commonly seen are cottontop barrel, silver cholla, and beavertail cactus.

Cottontop Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus polycephalus)












Klare Spring and Petroglyhs at mile 18



The biggest sources of water in the area, Klare Spring produces 22 gallons of water/minute.



Death Valley National Park (continued)







Timbisha Native Americans carved petroglyphs on some of the rock faces in Titus Canyon, especially near natural springs.


Open image in new tab to see the petroglyphs closely
The limestone bolder is cemented in place by travertine, a typical deposit of spring water







Shadows on the mountains: Pterodactyl, Human with Spirit on his shoulder, Kite Creature, Jabba the Hutt and Elephant






Titus Canyon Narrows









From "Geology of Death Valley National Park: Landforms, Crustal Extension, Geologic History, Road Guides"

You can imagine animal imprints in this Megabreccia

Scotty's Castle Road


Dust Storm





Ubehebe 



Name: Paiute for "Big Basket". For Timbisha Shoshone Indians it was knows as "Tem-pin-tta- Wo’sah", meaning Coyote’s Basket
Volcanic crater 600 ft deep and half a mile across. 
Caused by violent steam and gas explosions (maar volcanoes), Ubehebe and Little Hebe craters may have formed as recently as 300 to 1300 years ago when hot, molten material came in contact with groundwater. These large depressions show that Death Valley's geology is dynamic and ever changing.


Death Valley National Park (continued)
Beavertail cactus

Death Valley National Park (continued)

Death Valley National Park (continued)

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Aprons of rock



🌐 Map

Death Valley National Park (continued)
Sand storm at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Death Valley National Park (continued)

Death Valley National Park (continued)





⏳ Dec 16, 2016


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Wildlife & Flora

A rizona popcorn flower Acacia Adélie penguin Adonis Blue Butterfly Agave Alaska moose Alaska rabbit Alaska Shasta Daisies Albino alligator Allenrolfea occidentalis Alligator Allionia Allium hollandicum Alpaca Alpine columbine Amanita bisporigera American alligator American antelope American coot American crow American Holly American kestrel American Pekin American pipit American robin American rosefinch American white ibis American white pelican American wigeon Andean ibis Angelica lucida Anhinga Anole lizard Antarctic shag Antarctic Tern Appias drusilla Apricot mallow Araucaria araucana Archey's frog Arctic ground squirrel Arctic tern Arizona Bladderpod Armadillo Ashy-headed goose Astragalus canadensis Atlantic sand fiddler Audubon's warbler Austral thrush Azalea Bald eagle Banana spider Banded watersnake Barn swallow Barnacle goose Barometer earthstar Barrel cactus Bat house Bauhinia tree Beach rose Beaver Beavertail cactus Begonia boliviensis Begonia fimbriata Belding's ground squirrel Belted galloway cattle Belted kingfisher Bewick's wren Bidens ferulifolia Bidens laevis Bighorn sheep Bird vetch Bird's-foot trefoil Bison Black bear Black Guillemot Black Phoebe Black skimmer Black Swallowtail Black vulture Black-and-white warbler Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied whistling duck Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed magpie Black-browed albatross Black-capped chickadee Black-capped Siskin Black-chinned Siskin Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-headed grosbeak Black-headed Gull Black-legged kittiwake Black-necked grebe Black-necked Stilt Black-necked Swan Black-tailed gnatcatcher Black-tailed gull Black-tailed jackrabbit Black-throated sparrow Blackbird Blackbrush Bladdersage Blazing star Bloody cranesbill Blue columbine Blue jay Blue mussel Blue-gray gnatcatcher Blue-winged teal Boat-tailed grackle Boreal woodland caribou Boschniakia rossica Bottlenose dolphin bougainvillea red Brazilian dwarf morning-glory also named Hawaiian Blue Eyes 'Blue Daze' (Evolvulus glomeratus) Brewer's blackbird Bristle thistle Bronze-winged duck Brown anole Brown pelican Brown skua Brown Thrasher Brown-backed Whistler Brown-crested flycatcher Brown-headed cowbird Buff-tailed bumblebee Bufflehead Bugleherb Bullock's oriole Bumblebee Cactus Cactus(Night-blooming cereus) Caesalpinia gilliesii California fan palm California gull California mule deer California sea lion Calliandra Calliandra haematocephala Camellia Campsis radicans Canada goose Canadian dogwood Candelabra aloe Canyon wren Cape honeysuckle Cape marigold Cape petrel Cardinal Cardinal climber Cardinal female bird Carolina chickadee Carolina locust Carolina satyr Carolina Wren Carrion crow Cat Catclaw mesquite Caterpillar Cellar beetle Chain ferns Chalk-browed mockingbird Chandelier Plant Checkered White Cheesebush Cherokee bean Cherry tree Chesapeake blue crab Chilean Sheep Chilean skua Chilean Swallow Chimango Caracara Chinstrap penguin Chitalpa-Pink Dawn Chocolate (black) lily Cholla cactus Chukar partridge Cinnamon Fern Cipres macrocarpa Clematis 'Markham's Pink' Cliff chipmunk Cliffrose Cnidoscolus stimulosus Cocoa Thrush Cocoi heron Coconut Coigue Cold-desert Phlox Columbian Ground Squirrel Common buckeye Common Chaffinch Common columbine Common daisy Common Eider Common evening-primrose Common gallinule Common grackle Common green darner Common ground dove Common guillemot Common gull Common loon Common merganser Common moorhen Common Murre Common pheasant Common raven Common Redshank Common Redstart Common rosefinch Common sandpiper Common shelduck Common side-blotched lizard Common starling Common stork's-bill Common tern Conozoa Coontie Coot Coscoroba swan Cottongrass Cottontop barrel cactus Cottonwood Cottonwood tree Cow Coyote Crab Crabeater seal Crassula cultrata Creeping indigo Creosote bush Crescent milkvetch Crested duck Crimson Anemone Crinum latifolium Crowded parchment Culpeo Cypress tree Daisy Dall Sheep Dama Dark-bellied Cinclodes Dark-eyed Junco Darkling beetle Decorated Warbonnet Deer Delphinium parryi Desert almond Desert evening-primrose Desert marigold Desert onion Desert willow Desmodium incanum Dianthus Dicranum scoparium Dieteria canescens Dog violet Domestic rabbit Donkey Double Crested Cormorant Double-crested cormorant Douglas-fir Dragonfly dune sunflower Dung beetle Dungeness crab Dusky dolphin Dusky Rockfish Duskywing Dwarf chamaesaracha Dwarf fireweed Eared dove Eastern Bluebird Eastern gray squirrel Eastern Phoebe Eastern tiger swallowtail Eastern Towhee Echinomastus johnsonii Egyptian goose Elk Emilia fosbergii Emilia sonchifolia Emu Ephedra torreyana Eristalis arbustorum Eurasian collared dove Eurasian coot Eurasian magpie Eurasian oystercatcher Eurasian siskin European black slug European herring gull European rabbit European Robin European stonechat Evening Primrose Falkland steamer duck Feathertop Fernbush Fiddler crab Fire ant Fireweed Fish Fish crow Florida box turtle Florida gar Florida mud turtle Florida Panther Florida pusley Florida softshell turtle Flying steamer duck Footstool palm Forked bluecurls Forster's Tern foxglove Foxtail barley Franklin's gull Fry Fulmar Gadwall Galápagos giant tortoise Gambel oak Gambel's quail Garden grape-hyacinth Gardenia Gentoo penguin Geranium erianthum Giant leaf-footed bug Giant Sequoia Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Globe mallow Glossy ibis Goat Golden barrel cactus Golden silk spider Gopher tortoise Gosling Grass duck Grasshopper Grasshopper skin Grassland Yellow-Finch Gray catbird Gray whale Gray-hooded Sierra-Finch Graylag Goose Great basin fence lizard Great black-backed gull Great blue heron Great cormorant Great crested flycatcher Great Crested Grebe Great Egret (Ardea alba) Great horned owl Great white egret Greater scaup Green Anole Green grasshopper Green Heron Green lichen Green-tailed towhee Grey heron Grey seal Grey-backed storm petrel Greylag Goose Grizzly bear Guanaco Guillemot Guira Cuckoo Gulf fritillary Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Gull Gull-billed tern Hackberry emperor Hairy cowpea Hairy daisy Harbor seal Hartlaub's gull Hen Hermit Crabs Hermit Thrush Hesperaloe parviflora Hexagonia hydnoides High plateau coconut palm Highland Cattle Highland Cattle. Himalayan blue poppy Holstein Friesian cattle Honey bee Honey bee nest Hooded crow Hooded merganser Horned grebe Horned lark Horned puffin Horseshoe crab House Sparrow Hover flies Huckleberry hawthorn Hummingbird Humpback Whale Humpback Whales Iceberg rose Iceland poppy Icelandic horse Icelandic sheep Imperial shag Inca Tern Indian blanket Iris setosa Ironweed Borer Isabelline wheatear Isocoma Jacob sheep Jellyfish Jimsonweed Jojoba Joshua tree Kashmiri goat Katydid Kelp goose Kelp Gull Kestrel Killdeer Killer whale (orca) King Eider King Penguin Kingcup cactus Kittiwake Krameria erecta Laccaria laccata Langloisia setosissima Lark sparrow Lasiandra Laughing Gull Lazuli bunting Leaf-footed pine seed bug Least chipmunk Least sandpiper Lichens Licorice fern Light-mantled albatross Lilac Limpkin Lion's ear Little auk Little Blue Heron Lizard's tail Llama Loblolly pine Lodgepole chipmunk Loggerhead shrike Long-leaf phlox Long-tailed duck Lu the Hippo Lupinus argenteus Lupinus nootkatensis Lyreleaf sage Lysimachia europaea Mabel orchard orb-weaver Macaw Magellanic cormorant Magellanic oystercatcher Magellanic penguin Magic of the Salt Marsh Malacothrix incana (Dunedelion) Mallard Maple tree Marbled godwit Marsh crab Marsh rabbit Marsh snail Marsh wren Meadow pipit Meligethes aeneus Merremia dissecta Mesa pepperwort Milkvetch Millipede Moapa bladderpod Mockingbird Mojave indigo bush Mojave mound cactus Mojave Popcorn Flower Mojave yucca Monk Parakeet Moorhen moose with calf Morning glory Moss Mountain bluebird Mountain goat Mountain gum Mourning dove Moustached Turca Mule Deer Muscovy duck Musk ox Mussel Mute swan Myrtle warbler Mythic Illanda Narcissus anemone Nasturtium Natal plum Neoregelia coriacea Neotropic cormorant Night heron Night-blooming cereus Nootka rose North American river otter Northern Fulmar Northern gannet Northern geranium Northern groundcone Northern mockingbird Northern paper wasp Northern pintail Northern rough-winged swallow Northern shoveler Northern wheatear Notch-leaved phacelia Oak Toad Oasis hummingbird Oenothera pallida Opuntia cochenillifera Opuntia oricola Orchard orb weaver Orchard spider Osprey Osprey Chick Ostrich Otter Ovenbird Owl calls Oxeye Daisy Oyster Catcher Oystercatcher Ozello Pale-breasted thrush Palm warbler Palo Verde tree Panicled aster Papaver alpinum Parmotrema perlatum Peacock Pectis Penstemon palmeri Penstemon parryi Penstemon secundiflorus (One-sided penstemon) Peruvian Booby Peruvian Pelican Peruvian Pipit Petrochelidon Phacelia coerulea (Skyblue Phacelia) Phainopepla Phellinus igniarius Phlox Physaria Pica Pica Pickerelweed Pied-billed Grebe Pig Pigeon Guillemot Pigeon guillemots Pileated Woodpecker Pine Siskin Pink purslane Plateau fence lizard Pluchea sericea Plummera Pomegranate Pond snail Ponderosa pine Pope's phacelia Porcupine Possum Prickly pear Prickly wild rose Primula meadia Prince's plume Pronghorn Antelope Pronghorn Fawn Providence Petrel Pterophylla camellifolia Ptilostemon puffin Purple finch Purple kale Purple mustard Purple Sandpiper Purshia stansburiana Queen butterfly racoon Razorbill Red Admiral Butterfly Red columbine Red Crossbill Red elderberry Red grouse Red maple Red Shoveler Red Spider red squirrel Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted merganser Red-legged Kittiwake Red-shouldered hawk Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) Red-tailed hawk Red-throated Loon Redwing Reindeer Reindeer lichen Ring-billed gull Ring-necked duck Rock Pigeon Rock ptarmigan Rock shag Rock squirrel Rock wren Rosa moschata Rosa Rugosa Alba Rose Rose mallow Roseate spoonbill Roundleaf Bluet Royal tern Ruby-throated hummingbird Ruddy Turnstone Ruddy-headed goose Rufous-collared sparrow Russula emetica Rutidosis Sagebrush lizard Sagittaria lancifolia Saguaro cactus Salix lutea Salmonberry Salsola Salt Heliotrope Sand crab Sand dollar Sand martin Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandpiper Sauco Say's phoebe Scarlet gilia Scarlet globemallow Sconx sea clown Sea lavender Sea otter sea parrot Sea purslane Seagrape Seagull Sealion Sego lily Semipalmated plover Semipalmated sandpiper Serdang palm Shark carcass Short-beaked common dolphin Shorthorn Shrimp plant Shrubby cinquefoil Silver cholla Single-leaf ash Sitka deer Slander Woodoats Slug Small tortoiseshell Smoketree Snail Snail shell Snakehead Snapdragon Snow bunting Snowball Sand Verbena Snowshoe hare Snowy egret Snowy-crowned tern Solitary sandpiper South American sea lion South polar skua Southern black racer.Banana tree Southern Caracara Southern dewberry Southern Fulmar Southern giant petrel Southern Giant-Petrel Southern Lapwing Southern Sea Lion Spanish Moss Sparkleberry Spencer's Midden Spicebush Spiderwort Spiderwort blue Spiny phlox Sponge gourd Spotted beebalm Spotted sandpiper Spotted towhee Spotty Toad Lily Spreading dayflower Spreading Fleabane Sprenger's asparagus Spring azure Spurred butterfly pea Stansbury's cliffrose Starfish Steller sea lion Steller's jay Stilt sandpiper Stink bug Stone crabs Strawberry hedgehog cactus Super king ixora Svalbard reindeer Swainson's thrush Swallow-tailed kite Swallowtail butterfly Swamp rose Sweet pea Symphyotrichum subulatum Tall bluebells Tall whitetop Teddy-bear cholla Tepu Tetragnatha extensa Texas sabal palm The bull nettle Thick-billed Murre Tick mite Timucuan Toad Toad tadpole Townsend’s Daisy Trametes hirsuta Tree tobacco Trichodes apiarius Trichonephila clavata Tricolored heron Trout True crabs Trumpet vine Trumpeter swan Tufted duck Tufted evening-primrose Tufted Puffin Tufted Tit-Tyrant Tufted titmouse Tulip pricklypear Tulipa humilis Tumbleweed Turkey Vulture Turpentine bush Turtle Two-needle pinyon Upland goose Utah juniper Vahlodea atropurpurea Verbascum phoeniceum Verbesina hastata Vermilion flycatcher Viburnum edule Victory white camelia Vinca Violet-green swallow Viscacha Wahlenbergia Wandering Albatross Warbling vireo Wasatch beardtongue Wasp Water hyacinth Weddell seal Welsh black cattle Welsh mountain sheep Western bluebird Western Columbine Western gull Western jackdaw Western kingbird Western meadowlark Western sandpiper Western sycamore Western tanager Western tiger swallowtail Western whiptail Western wood pewee Westringia whale Whales Whimbrel Whirligig beetle White clover White evening primrose White lichen White prickly poppy White snakeroot White Stem Evening Primrose White Wagtail White-Beaked Dolphin White-chinned petrel White-crowned sparrow White-tailed antelope squirrel White-tailed deer White-tailed Hawk White-throated dipper Whitest evening primrose Wilcox's Woollystar Wild horse Wild mustang Wild petunia Wild potato vine Wild turkey Willet Willow Warbler Wilson's phalarope Wood alligator Wood bison Wood Pigeon Wood stork Woodland false buttonweed Wyeth's lupine Yaupon Yaupon holly Yellow toadflax Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied marmot Yellow-bellied sapsucker Yellow-bellied slider Yellow-billed Teal Yellow-crowned night-heron Yellow-legged gull Yellow-rumped warbler Yellow-spotted millipede Yellow-throated warbler Yerba mansa Yucca Zamia pumila Zebra longwing butterfly