Saline Valley, Inyo, Death Valley, Calif, Dry Mountain, BIG sep. map, MINING !

Description

Dramatic Saline Valley geology is detailed in first-edition report and big separate color map
Remote Mojave Desert area is now part of Death Valley Park;
map shows Warm Spring, Marble Bath, road to Eureka Valley
Tiny detail of large map from pocket,
Geologic Map and Sections of the Dry Mountain Quadrangle, Inyo County, California
, showing Marble Bath rock formation, a little ways from Eureka–Saline vehicle corridor.
W
ant to explore some of the most remote and unpopulated desert backcountry in California? Then this first-edition report and large color map are for you!
But you won't find this report in some gift shop, wedged between the Slim Jims and the cheesy "I-survived-Death-Valley" T-shirts.
Remote, rugged, beautiful desert backcountry in Inyo County
This 32-year-old report -- from the California Division of Mines and Geology -- covers the dramatic geologic features of northeastern Saline Valley, including the first leg of the "vehicle corridor" from Saline Valley to neighboring Eureka Valley, more burro path than road, which runs through some of the most remote, rugged, beautiful and
unpopulated sections of California desert.
Map shows area covered by book and its relation to Darwin, Keeler, Ubehebe Crater, Saline Valley, Panamint Valley, and Wacouba Springs. Southwest corner of the quadrangle is about 86 road miles from the nearest gas station.
4WD not needed
And you don't need 4WD! Sure, you'll need it on the smaller backcountry roads like the vehicle corridor, but not to access the valley itself or many other area roads. They're graded dirt and maintained by the county. I wouldn't recommend a Honda Accord (although I have seen similar cars make the trip without a problem), but a vehicle with highish clearance like a SUV or light truck will do just fine as long as you take it easy. The main road is patrolled by the park service, albeit infrequently.
Stunning color map
Yes, the stunning color map from the pocket shows the much-discussed Marble Bath rock formation, a little way from the Eureka-Saline vehicle corridor.
Depending on who you ask, this spectacular rock formation either:
Still very much exists and is an awe to behold.
Was destroyed by a crazed dynamiter from Charlie Manson's gang. (Manson and his "family" hid out for a time in Saline Valley.)
Was buried in a rumored recent catastrophic landslide.
Don't ask me; I won't tell. you'll have to go there and see for yourself (see top map detail).
Shows likely areas to find
precious metals and crystals
Although
Geology of the Dry Mountain Quadrangle, Inyo County, California
, by B. Clark Burchfiel, does not cover mining per se, it is just the thing for desert explorers ready to try their hand at a little prospecting. It describes contact zones, often where one type of rock gets "cooked" and squeezed by another type of rock. This results in highly mineralized areas or creates very pure deposits of various minerals, including precious metals, crystals and gems.
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Because it's a geological map, it shows far more features than an ordinary topo map. If you hike up a side canyon or across the valley floor itself, it will show you whether you'll be walking on dirt or solid rock -- and what kind of rock to boot.
Buy it now for a fall-winter visit
If you want to visit the Saline Valley area, fall-winter-early-spring is the time to do it. Saline Valley is the next valley over from Death Valley and almost as hot during the summer. Temperatures during the summer are frequently in the 120s. Yes, you read that right -- 120 degrees or more during July and August. You don't need to bring a stove, you could cook a steak with a side of fried potatoes on any convenient rock. The place is hotter than a toaster slot.
But not year-round, fortunately. Late fall, early spring and winter are the times to visit. In fact, it's downright pleasant there during those months with warm days and crisp nights, surrounded by the snow-capped Inyo Mountains during the day and a million stars overhead at night. Light pollution doesn't reach Saline Valley and environs, so it's a grand place to star gaze, either with the unaided eye or with a telescope. In fact, an observatory is being built in the mountains just northeast of the valley to take advantage of crystal-clear atmospheric conditions.
Now inside the borders of Death Valley National Park
Yes, the
Dry Mountain quad now falls completely inside the borders of Death Valley National Park, but you can always file a claim and then go back to remove your riches. (Mining is still allowed in Death Valley by permit.) Hey, who knows, maybe you'll discover the next Lost Burro Gold mine. (Saline Valley is the valley to the west of Death Valley.)
To find the various contact zones, faults and various rock units, you'll need the map from the pocket, and what a map it is. It would look
great
framed if it wasn't so useful in the field. Then again, you could have the best of both worlds: Make a copy of it for the field, and frame the original. It's a handsome example of geologic cartography with pleasing colors and nicely executed calligraphy; they just don't make 'em like this any more. It's big and in full color, about 27 by 27 inches with a scale of 1 inch = 1 mile.
An 8.5 inch x 11 inch section (obviously reduced to a much smaller size here) of large striking map from report's rear pocket. Map shows much of southeastern Saline Valley, the next valley west of Death Valley.
Map shows Upper
Warm Spring
The map shows Saline Valley's famous Upper Warm Spring, but
not
Lower Warm Spring or Palm Spring. (Those probably appear on the Wacouba Wash quadrangle map; see map above right). Also on the map are Round Valley; a piece of northernmost Racetrack (the famous dry lake where boulders move around on a dry lake by themselves) Teakettle Junction; the southern Last Chance Range; the eastern Saline Range; and the western slope of the northern Panamint Range. Much of this is roadless remote desert backcountry. If you want desert solitude, these are the places to find it.
Geology is detailed
Because this is, after all, a geology book, it describes that topic in detail. More than 19,000 feet of Palozoic rocks crop out in the Dry Mountain quadrangle. The lower 2,000 feet is predominantly clastic quartzose sediments, while remainder of the section is mostly limestone and dolomite with only thin clastic formations intercalated. Cenozoic volcanic rocks, both basic and felsic, form extensive outcrops in the western and southern parts of the quadrangle.
A small part of the Racetrack thrust is exposed in the southeast part of the area. Most of the Paleozoic rocks of the Saline Range are part of a very extensive thrust plate that is exposed in northern Last Chance Range, Saline Range and eastern Inyo Mountains.
Of course, the text contains far, far more detail about geology than just the previous paragraph. Geology varies widely over an area the size of this quadrangle, so it is impossible to convey but the simplest geologic features in an ad.
Tiny detail of map in pocket showing type of rock formations around Saline Valley's Upper Warm Spring.
Where is it?
The Dry Mountain quadrangle in Inyo County is pretty much in the middle of nowhere (see black-and-white map, above right). Only roads to the quad are unpaved, but four-wheel-drive is usually not necessary for most of the main roads. The southwest corner of the quadrangle is about 86 miles by road from the nearest gas station, grocery store and
motel in Lone Pine, California, in Owens Valley, at the foot of Mt. Whitney. About 51 of those 86 miles are on backcountry dirt roads. The tiny Mojave Desert ghost town of Darwin is about 56 miles away, but it has no services, not even a pay phone, only a post office.
Dry Mountain quad is about 270 road miles northeast of Los Angeles and 126 miles from Kern County. Nearest towns with supermarkets and chain stores are Ridgecrest and Bishop, CA, both about 140 highway miles away round-trip.
The book:
Geology of the Dry Mountain Quadrangle, Inyo County, California
, Special Report 99, by B. Clark Burchfiel (Department of Geology, Rice University, Houston, Texas); first edition, published by the California Division of Mines and Geology, Ferry Building, San Francisco, 1969 (under Ronald Reagan as governor); 15 illustrations (all black and white), 19 pages, eight by 11 inches, saddlestitch binding, UV-coated semi-gloss stiff-paper covers, one large (27 by 27 inch) full-color map folded in rear pocket; book is in fine like-new condition, no bent pages, no discernible yellowing; map in pocket is folded and has some slight rippling.
Payment methods and domestic shipping
Paypal only. Free shipping and handling via priority mail. I pride myself on bulletproof packaging.
The fine print:
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the item or terms of sale.
I post feedback once a week. Not responsible for typographical errors.
Where is it?
Death Valley National Park (DVNP) is located mostly in southeastern California; some of it crosses state lines into Nevada. Most of DVNP is in Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California.
Counties adjacent to Inyo are Mono, Fresno, Tulare, Kern and San Bernardino; nearby counties include: Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Tuolumne and Alpine.
Towns, population areas and interesting sites in Inyo County include Aberdeen, the Alabama Hills, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Badwater, Ballarat, Big Pine, Bishop, Cartago, Cerro Gordo, China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Coso Junction, Darwin, Death Valley Junction, Dolomite, Dunmovin, Eureka Sand Dunes, Fossil Falls, Furnace Creek, Haiwee Reservoir, Independence, Keeler, Laws, Lake Sabrina, Little Lake, Lone Pine, Marblehead Acres, Mt. Whitney, Olancha, Owens Lake, Panamint Springs, Pearsonville, Saline Valley, Scotty's Castle, Shoshone, Stovepipe Wells, Swansea, Tecopa and Ubehebe Crater.
Good luck and thanks for lookinga!
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