Tag Inyo County

Salt Creek Interpretive Trail

Man on a boardwalk running parallel to a creek.

In a notoriously hot and dry environment such as Death Valley National Park, Salt Creak's presence on the desert floor is a surprise. The creek is fed by brackish springs over a mile upstream, resulting in a marshy habitat and home to the rare Salt Creek Pupfish. The creek may be too salty for us to drink and can be saltier than the ocean, yet it still supports a thriving ecosystem.

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Zabriskie Point

Towering golden rock formation of Zabriskie Point with the Panamint Range in the background.

There's no shortage of dramatic rock formations in Death Valley National Park. But one that is (arguably) the most iconic is Zabriskie Point. This striking struckure rises out of ancient badlands older than Death Valley itself. It was formed by erosion of sediment left by Furnace Creek Lake when it dried up 5 million years ago, long before Lake Manly and Death Valley as we know it. Today, it is the gem of the Ameragosa Range, the eastern mountain range flanking Death Valley National Park

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Dante’s View

Colorful salt flats paint the floor of Death Valley as seen from Dante's View.

So many of the iconic stops in Death Valley are on the valley's floor. Badwater, the Sailing Stones, and the Devils Golf Course are all fairly low elevation. For many, the opportunity to see the park from above is most common while driving CA-190 over the Panamint Range and into the Badwater Basin. While the drive includes many stunning vistas, they are hard to compare to the colorful marbleized salt flats of the Death Valley floor and Badwater Basin as seen from Dante's View.

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