Death Valley online tour: COVID-19 social distancing
For over ten years, I have run a hiking/science group through Meetup called the SF Bay Area Geology and Natural Sciences Hiking Group. Recently, with a bad knee and moving to Davis, I haven’t had lead that many hikes.
Meetup has always been about getting people together physically–while they have computer/tech groups, they must be meeting in person, not online, But with the advent of COVID-19 social distancing, Meetup has temporarily adjusted their rules to allow online ‘gatherings.’
In addition to the hundreds of hikes I have lead around the greater SF Bay Area, I have also organized multi-day trips. Seven of these have been to Death Valley National Park.
So…why not lead a virtual tour of Death Valley.
Using Google Earth as the tour map, and combining my knowledge from the trips I have taken there with my photos and YouTube/Vimeo videos, I organized a tour for April 15th, 2020. Below are images and videos from that tour (I hope to add a Google Earth link soon).
Overview
Here’s a nice video giving you a lot of background on the geology of Death Valley (this clip starts at the end of the video to show how our tents were treated one year, but you should play if from the start).
Badwater Basin
Why not start at the lowest place in the United States: 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.
Zabriskie Point
Know for its glorious sunsets and sunrises, photographers flock to this point at those times.
Then there’s also the 1970s movie named after the point. I’ve never seen it, but here’s the trailer.
Alluvial Fans
Historic Lake Manly
Salt Creek Interpretive Trail: Pupfish
The boardwalk is open year round, however the water flows down to the boardwalk only from November through May. The best time to visit is during the Spring (February – April) when the Salt Creek Pupfish are in spawn. Interpretive signs along the way explain pupfish behavior, their adaptations, and how they relate to other pupfish around the Mojave Desert.
Mesquite Sand Dunes
Washboard Road to the Racetrack
Yes, I’ve taken a two-wheel drive Saturn sedan car down this road.
Racetrack Playa moving stones
Ubuhebe Crater
A steam volcano, hot water under the ground created such high pressure that the ground was pushed up; no lava involved.
