Death Valley, the Land of the Timbisha

Dantes View (5475 feet) - Death Valley

Death Valley's native people are known as the Timbisha Shoshone. Timbisha is their name for the valley as well. "Timbisha" refers to a sacred red pigment found in the mountains overlooking the valley. The color red represents the way forward. A red flicker feather left along a path, and the red color in the sunrise points toward the future.

Ninety-one percent of Death Valley National Park is designated wilderness, preserving opportunities to experience solitude, night skies, and wild nature. With solitude comes isolation, so one must be self-reliant for one's safety.

We decided to reach the sand dunes during the morning hours - about 28 miles to the Northwest from where we stayed. It was easy access to this sprawling 14 square miles of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes across the widest part of Death Valley. The best time to hike the dunes is early or late in the day. I was told moonlight hikes are magical here, but be alert for sidewinder rattlesnakes. Always bring water and avoid hiking in the hottest part of the day. We spent about an hour exploring the dunes, taking in the surroundings.

From here, we drove around the mountain roads like gypsies but had to return as it felt like a never-ending journey towards nowhere. Back at the ranch hotel, I made plans for the evening - the last leg of our visit to this amazing valley - Zabriskie Point and Dantes View, both famous for their sunset views.

The otherworldly badlands at Zabriskie Point are deathly silent and still. Yet this arid scene is the result of the 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 valley's floor. As the layers uplifted and were exposed, periodic rainstorms cause powerful gully washers that erode the soft rocks into the chaotic yet strangely beautiful landscape we see today.

From here, we drove to reach the Dantes Viewpoint, about 24 miles to the southwest. Vehicles longer than 25 feet are not allowed along the final 6-mile stretch to the mountain top, 5475 feet above sea level.

Standing on the spine of the Black Mountains at Dante's view, the mountain range is one in a series of alternating and parallel north-south trending mountains and valleys, forming what geologists call the Basin and Range Geologic Province. It stretches from Utah to California and from Idaho to Mexico. This geographic region is spreading apart, fracturing the earth's crust along parallel fault lines. Huge blocks of land between the faults tilt like seesaws as the extension continues. The Panamint Mountains and the Black Mountains are the result of rising fault block edges. The next large earthquake could cause Badwater Basin to drop a few more feet below sea level.

Even as the basins and ranges form, erosion wears down the mountains. Debris from the surrounding area washes into the basin since it has no outlet to the sea. Erosion cannot keep up with the geologic forces that continue to create Death Valley - the basin drops faster than it fills.

Satellite Image shows the basin and range topography of the Western United States.

As we witnessed the red sky, many emotions flooded my thoughts - Who am I, Where am I going, what kind of life am I leading? It made me reflect deeply. At night, I could detect the subtle sounds and the glory of the night sky. I stood still and listened - the silence was so deep that I could hear crystals on the salt flats pop as they contracted in the cooling evening - the sound of silence was magical!