Eastern CA and Death Valley

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Thursday, 7 November 2024 - Another early morning drive along the Death Valley floor to Artists Palette to see the vibrant volcanic colors, enjoyed a great breakfast at the Oasis hotel, then in the afternoon visited the Badwater Basin-the lowest point in North America-walking among remarkable salt pattern formations at sunset before returning to the trucks.

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A stop where the volcanic rocks, which are rich in iron oxides and chlorite, create a rainbow effect.
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The colors are amazing.
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One ridge of colored rock after another marching up the mountainside.
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Stream bed running out of the colorful rocks.

Another great breakfast at the Oasis hotel and then back to our hotel.
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This afternoon we headed out to the Badwater Basin of Death Valley. It is the bottom of a huge lake which has no outflow. As there is no outlet for the lake, it collects salt.

It is also the lowest point in North America at -282 below sea level.
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The patterns of salt form as the water below the surface pushes up through cracks and deposits more salt as it evaporates.
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Over time the pattern in the salt grows larger and larger.
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Setting sun on the nearby mountains. At the foot of those mountains are our trucks - so a long way.
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The patterns and textures were remarkable.
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While I walked, I could feel the salt crunching under my feet. I felt bad as I was crushing formations which took many days, weeks, months, years to build.
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There was no real pattern to the salt.
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The salt patterns in the setting sunlight.
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