Tag: Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California and stretching into Nevada, is a land of extremes. It is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the United States, featuring the famously scorching Badwater Basin, which lies 282 feet below sea level. The park’s vast and varied landscape includes towering sand dunes, rugged mountains, and colorful badlands. Despite its harsh conditions, Death Valley is home to a surprising diversity of life, with unique plant and animal species adapted to the extreme environment. The park also boasts stunning geological features such as the salt flats, volcanic craters, and canyons, offering visitors a breathtaking glimpse into the power of nature. Starry night skies and striking sunrises and sunsets add to the park’s otherworldly beauty, making it a unique destination for adventure seekers and nature enthusiasts alike.

Teakettle Junction

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Located at the intersection of Hunter Mountain Road and Race Track Valley Road, Teakettle Junction is a unique point of interest in Death Valley National Park, California.

Teakettle Junction at the intersection of Hunter Mountain Road and Race Track Valley Road, Death Valley National Park, California
Teakettle Junction at the intersection of Hunter Mountain Road and Race Track Valley Road, Death Valley National Park, California

Aside from the mile post at the intersection, the only thing which causes you to take note is the odd tradition of hanging teakettles from the sign. Typically, teakettles are decorated with fun messages and greeting along with the date of their trip. Our family participated in this tradition and it was a big hit with my son. The National Park Service will periodically remove the teakettles, where, I am sure the send them to the National Archives.

Ryan and I hanging our teakettle at the sign.
Ryan and I hanging our teakettle at the sign.

The origin of the tradition and name of the site is not completely known. There are rumor’s around that it could be so named because the roads in the area will bounce you around like a teakettle.

The site is located about 21 miles from Ubehebe Crater and offers access to Hunter Mountain Road, Racetrack Valley, Lippincott Mine Road and Saline Valley beyond.

Teakettle Junction Trail Map

References

Ubehebe Crater

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Ubehebe Crater is a volcanic crater located near Grapevine Canyon in Death Valley National Park in California. The crater is approximately 600 deep and one half mile across and a popular spot for visitors in the park. The crater is created by a Maar Volcano, which is a shallow volcano caused when groundwater comes in contact with volcanic magma.

Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park, California
Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park, California

The crater was originally known as “Tem-pin-tta- Wo’sah” from the Timbisha Shoshone Indian phrase for Coyote’s Basket. At some point, the crater was renamed to “Ubehebe” which is the name of a near by mountain and comes from the Paiute Indian name for “Big Basket”. Regardless of the name, the crater does remind one of a basket in the earth.

A Panorama looking from Ubehebe Crater overlooking the cinder fields, Death Valley National Park
A Panorama looking from Ubehebe Crater overlooking the cinder fields, Death Valley National Park

The road into Ubehebe serves as the starting points to the Race Track Valley Road, Teakettle Junction and Hunter Mountain Road.

Hiking

There are a few separate hiking opportunities while exploring the crater.

The crater rim trail, which is about 1.5 miles long, circumnavigates the crater and allows access to Little Hebe crater. The trail has some slight elevation gain, however could be more difficult to hikes with balance issue due to the unstable soil.

There is also a trail down the the bottom of the crater. This is a short trail and very easy going down. The difficulty is hiking back up the 600 feet elevation lost on the way down, in loose volcanic soil.

Ubehebe Crater Trail Map

References

Ubehebe Lead Mine

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The Ubehebe Lead Mine is located just west of the Racetrack Playa Road off of the Bonnie Claire Road.  Discovered in 1906, the mine is located on the west side of the Racetrack valley just south of Teakettle junction.    The site was started as a copper mine and during to coarse of its operation would produce lead, copper, gold and zinc.

Ubehebe Lead Mine Trail sign located just off of the Racetrack, Death Valley, CA
Ubehebe Trail sign located just off of the Racetrack, Death Valley, CA

In February, 1908 a large eight foot thick vein of lead ore which was perceived to run through the mountain changed the mines name and destiny.  In order to prepare, the site hauled in 26,000 lbs of provisions to feed and supply a crew of eight men for the duration of the summer.   When processed the order produced significantly lower than expected.  The lack of water, remote location and less than desirable returns caused production of the Ubehebe Lead Mine to be sporadic.

Ubehebe Mine with tramway visible at the top of the hill, Death Valley, CA
Ubehebe Mine with tramway visible at the top of the hill, Death Valley, CA

The site currently has a main adit which is blocked off about 10 feet inside of the entrance.  Several other adits are located up the hillside and all are blocked to entry at this time.  There are a few collapsed buildings of light construction that have given their all against the harsh environment and several foundations are also evident.  An aerial tramway was built to the northern works and a single tramway cable is still suspended and connected to tramway on the ridge above.

Exploring the Ubehebe Mine tails pile, Death Valley, CA
Exploring the Ubehebe Mine tails pile, Death Valley, CA

The entire area has undergone extensive washing: bits of rail and pipe sections lie about near the mine, as do crockery fragments, pieces of glass, and tin cans that have worked down from the camp site. The several dumps nearby contain nothing of historical significance.

Looking back at the jeep, Death Valley National Park, CA
Looking back at the jeep, Death Valley National Park, CA
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Lippincott Mine Road

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The Lippincott Mine Road is a one way trail from Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa to Saline Valley. It is a steep trail which is not for the novice or the feint of heart. Greeting you at the trail head is a sign which reads:

“Lippincott Pass, 4×4 High Clearance, No Tow Service, Caution”

Experienced drivers using 4×4 high clearance vehicles only.  What traveler in their right mind could resist a challenge like this? Provided you are equipped to do so.

Lippincott Mine Road from Racetrack Valley, Death Valley National Park, CA
Lippincott Mine Road from Racetrack Valley, Death Valley National Park, CA
Looking back at some amazing landscapes near the top of the Lippincott Mine.
Looking back at some amazing landscapes near the top of the Lippincott Mine.

The top of Lippincott Mine road starts at the end of the Racetrack Valley road and descends into the west towards Saline Valley.  The road is steep and narrow but is not too technical.  At the top of the route is the Lippencott Mine site which gives the trail it’s name.  The Lippincott Mine offers great views of both Saline and RaceTrack Valley.  

Looking down at Saline Valley in the distance.
Looking down at the road from the mine, with Saline Valley in the distance.

There are several structures, and mines to explore and a lot of time could be spent exploring the site on foot.  The Homestake dry camp offers a great spot of overnight in the area for those of us who are so inclined and look forward to being really away from it all. The best night sky I have seen in the last 35 year was at the Homestake Dry Camp.

The remains of the Lippincott Mine at the southern end of Race Track Valley.
The remains of the Lippincott Mine at the southern end of Race Track Valley.

Lippincott Mine Road Trail Map

Titus Canyon

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Titus Canyon has it all, rugged mountains, colorful rock formations, a small ghost town, mines, petroglyphs, wildlife, rare plants and spectacular canyon narrows as a grand finale! Titus Canyon is the most popular back-country road in Death Valley National Park and just plain fun to run.  The canyon is easily accessible from Stovepipe wells and Furnace Creek.

Titus Canyon, a narrow canyon drive in Death Valley National Park, CA
Titus Canyon, a narrow canyon drive in Death Valley National Park, CA

Although the Grapevine Mountains were uplifted relatively recently, most of the rocks that make up the range are over half a billion years old. The gray rocks lining the walls of the western end of the Canyon are Cambrian limestone. These ancient Paleozoic rocks formed at a time when the Death Valley area was submerged beneath tropical seas. By the end of the Precambrian, the continental edge of North America had been planed off by erosion to a gently rounded surface of low relief. The rise and fall of the Cambrian seas periodically shifted the shoreline eastward, flooding the continent, then regressed westward, exposing the limestone layers to erosion. The sediments have since been upturned, up folded (forming anticlines), down folded (forming synclines) and folded back onto themselves (forming recumbent folds).

Leadfield Gost Town, Death Valley, California
Leadfield Gost Town, Death Valley, California

Although some of the limestone exposed in the walls of the canyon originated from thick mats of algae (stromatolites) that thrived in the warm, shallow Death Valley seas, most of the gray limestone shows little structure. Thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) of this limey goo were deposited in the Death Valley region. Similar limestone layers may be seen at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
At one of the bends in the canyon, megabreccia can be seen.

Leadfield was an unincorporated community, and historic mining town found in Titus Canyon in Death Valley National Park.

Titus Canyon Trail Map