It was a great time to visit and explore Zabriskie Point, a little bit chilly but not crowded. From Pahrump, Nevada to Zabriskie Point parking lot in Death Valley National Park California is about 56 miles. It was an easy nice drive to there. We saw some wild horses on the way and that was cool. Zabriskie Point is our first stop in our journey to Death Valley National Park California.
Zabriskie Point
A short uphill walk to the viewpoint on a pavement path offers a stunning panoramic views of the landscape all around. Even though it was not sunrise nor sunset when we arrived at Zabriskie Point, we still enjoy the beauty of area.
It's very easy to get here and it's a must stop. Watch our little video to learn about the area and see more of the Zabriskie Point.
Please check the other places we've explored on our journey to Death Valley National Park.
Watch our little video to learn about the area and see more of the Zabriskie Point.
Death Valley National Park Homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone
View of Zabriskie viewpoint from the highway
Approaching Zabriskie Point
View form Zabriskie Point parking lot
View of Manly Beacon and Red Cathedrals
View of Manly Beacon and Red Cathedrals
From Wasteland to Wonderland
Mining comes and goes with fluxuating demand for menirals, but the draw of the desert is eternal. By the 1920s borax mining activity had slowed and the Pacific Coast Borax Company began looking for other uses for its holding in Death Valley. The elegant Furnace Creek Inn first opened for business in 1927 with great success.
In a move to preserve the frontier nature of the desert and attract more guests to the inn, the borax company initiated the move to protect Death Valley. It became a national monument 1933 and a national park in 1994. The transition from mining to tourism proved to be the saving grace for the mining company and Death Valley.
Christian B. Zabriskie (1864 - 1936) was vice president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company. He oversaw the operations in Death Valley during the transition from mining to tourism.
(Information above is from the picture)
-National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Borax Mining
Within the lakebed deposits of the Furnace Creek Formation are rich layers of Colemanite and Uluxite-minerals often refered to as borax. Although borax was first discovered in a recrystalized form on the salt flats, these original minerals proved more profitable to mine. Starting in 1882, numerous mining claims were stablished near Ryan, Twenty Mule Team Canyon and in Gower Gulch below Zabriskie Point. Use caution around these unstable and dangerous mining areas.
Mining in it's more modern form has left huge open-pit and strip mines further to the east near Ryan. Public outcry over this high-impact activity led to passage of a law in 1976 which closed the park to prospecting and gave the National Park Service more control over mining activity. Privately owned mining claims still exist in the scenic landscape before you.
(Information above is from the picture) - National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
Zabriskie Point
The otherworldly badlands around you are deathly silent and still. Yet this scene is the result of often violent action of water and earthquakes. Three to five million years ago -- before the deepest part of Death Valley had formed--shimmering lakes filled a long, mountain-rimmed valley here. Fine silt and volcanic ash washed into the lake, settling to the bottom, ultimately creating the thick deposit of clay, sandstone and siltstone that make up the Furnace Creek Formation. These once-level layers are being tilted by seismic activity and pressure that is folding the ancient periodic rainstorms cause powerful gullywashers that erode the soft rocks into the chaotic yet strangely beautiful landscape we see today.
Volcanic activity also influenced this landscape. The black layer across the was is lava that oozed out onto the ancient lakebed. Hot water followed the lava, bringing minerals such as borax, gypsum, and calcite with it. Hot water also altered the mineral makeup of the Artist Drive Formation, hydrothermally altering the rock into the psychedelic swirl of colors on the hills beyond.
(Information above is from the picture) -National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
View of Manly Beacon
View to the north from Zabriskie Point
The Sims all bundle up
Alan's keeping his hat not to fly away
From Pahrump Nevada to Zabriskie Point Death Valley National Park California is about 56 miles