2017_04_19
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Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1000 Scenic Loop Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89161
The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) west of Las Vegas, and is easily seen from the Las Vegas Strip. The area is visited by more than two million people each year.[2]
The conservation area showcases a set of large red rock formations: a set of sandstone peaks and walls called the Keystone Thrust. The walls are up to 3,000 feet (910 m) high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The highest point is La Madre Mountain, at 8,154 feet (2,485 m).
A one-way loop road, 13 miles (21 km) long, provides vehicle access to many of the features in the area. Several side roads and parking areas allow access to many of the area trails. A visitor center is located at the start of the loop road. The loop road is also very popular for bicycle touring; it begins with a moderate climb, then is mostly downhill or flat.
Red Rock Canyon is a side-canyon accessible only by a four-wheel-drive road from the scenic loop. State Route 159 cuts through an unnamed but often-visited valley; it is commonly, but mistakenly, referred to as Red Rock Canyon. The Wilson Cliffs, or Keystone Thrust, a massive wall of rock, can be seen to the west from SR 159.
Towards the southern end of the National Conservation Area are Spring Mountain Ranch State Park; Bonnie Springs, a replica of a western ghost town; and the village of Blue Diamond.
From Wikipedia.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1000 Scenic Loop Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89161
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1000 Scenic Loop Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89161
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1000 Scenic Loop Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89161
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the United States. Straddling the border of California and Nevada, located east of the Sierra Nevada, it occupies an interface zone between the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts in the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons, and mountains. It is the largest national park in the lower 48 states and has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve. Approximately 91% of the park is a designated wilderness area.[4] It is the hottest, driest and lowest of the national parks in the United States.[5] The second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere is in Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. The park is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include creosote bush, bighorn sheep, coyote, and the Death Valley pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times.
A series of Native American groups inhabited the area from as early as 7000 BC, most recently the Timbisha around 1000 AD who migrated between winter camps in the valleys and summer grounds in the mountains. A group of European-Americans that became stuck in the valley in 1849 while looking for a shortcut to the gold fields of California gave the valley its name, even though only one of their group died there. Several short-lived boom towns sprang up during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to mine gold and silver. The only long-term profitable ore to be mined was borax, which was transported out of the valley with twenty-mule teams. The valley later became the subject of books, radio programs, television series, and movies. Tourism blossomed in the 1920s, when resorts were built around Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. Death Valley National Monument was declared in 1933 and the park was substantially expanded and became a national park in 1994.[2]
The natural environment of the area has been shaped largely by its geology. The valley itself is actually a graben. The oldest rocks are extensively metamorphosed and at least 1.7 billion years old.[6] Ancient, warm, shallow seas deposited marine sediments until rifting opened the Pacific Ocean. Additional sedimentation occurred until a subduction zone formed off the coast. This uplifted the region out of the sea and created a line of volcanoes. Later the crust started to pull apart, creating the current Basin and Range landform. Valleys filled with sediment and, during the wet times of glacial periods, with lakes, such as Lake Manly.
In 2013, Death Valley National Park was designated as a dark sky park by the International Dark-Sky Association.
From Wikipedia.
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point is a part of Amargosa Range located east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in California, United States noted for its erosional landscape. It is composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence.
The location was named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 20th century. The company's twenty-mule teams were used to transport borax from its mining operations in Death Valley.
From Wikipedia.
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California