California Desert Nat'l Conservation Area
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Trona Pinnacles California Desert Nat'l Conservation Area |
November 7, 2016
On our way from yesterday's petroglyph tour at China Lake to Death Valley,
hiker friend Gary and I plan to detour over to the Trona Pinnacles, which have
been on my bucket list for a long time. Along the way, we encounter an
unusual roadside shrine replete with big action-figure dolls:
Solar-powered lamps have been installed to light this thing at night
Just a short walk from the shrine is this totally unrelated phenomenon:
Did you know that Giant Piranhas roam the desert?
Gary and I turn right at the appropriate signpost, and follow a
well-graded road for about five miles.
Approaching the pinnacles
During the Pleistocene Era, the Sierra Nevada dumped runoff into
inland seas stretching as far north as Mono Lake. Calcium-rich
ground water and alkaline lake water combined to form these towers during
three different ice ages between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago.
There are more than 500 tufa spires here in the Searles Lake basin. The tallest rises to 140 feet.
Although a maze of trails pervades this area, no one of
them goes anywhere in particular. I simply head in a direction
that looks as if it might provide a good photo-op.
More than a dozen hit movies have been filmed here, as well as backdrops for car commercials, science fiction movies, and television series.
Gary composes a shot
These formations are inside a BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern designated to protect and preserve unique resources.
Not much activity here today
A parting shot
§: There is nothing to do here, of course, except to wander around a
bit. As usual, visiting early or late in the day might be best for photographs.
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