What Happens to the Amargosa?
©Bert Gildart: Included here are several images, and two of them show a river flowing near Shoshone, Nevada, just outside of Death Valley. Before reading any further, try and imagine what happens — eventually — to this, the Amargosa River?
I think the fate of the river is amazing, and have tried on numerous occasions to photograph it, but it has either been traveling below ground or there simply hasn’t been enough water to reveal it as a river. But two days ago, such was not the case.
The Amargosa River flows
almost 200 miles then enters Death Valley National Park. What Happens to it Then?
In short the Amargosa begins northwest of Las Vegas, where it flows generally south for about 185 miles sometimes above ground sometimes below. It passes through Beatty, and Tecopa California, continues flowing in a near parallel course adjacent to Route 127. It flows by the Dumont Dunes then shortly thereafter turns west and enters Death Valley where it turns northwest and flows to Badwater which is 282 feet below level. Here, some of the river disappears into the ground, feeding an aquifer that is the remnant of prehistoric Lake Manly.
But not all: much of the Amargosa River simply evaporates, leaving behind the huge mineralized body of white.
Wonder what all those crystals consist of? Kneel down, touch the white stuff and then give it the taste test. It’s salt, and virtually all came from the Amargosa River, a river that can at times flood and create chaos in small settlements.
In Death Valley, at Badwater,
which is 282 feet below sea level, the river disappears. Just another of the bizarre aspect of this incredible national park.
The phenomena of the Amargosa has always intrigued me and when I first learned these facts, I was blown away. What do you think?
I think the Amargosa is another of the crazy features that makes the valley just as interesting as the amazing flower bloom Death Valley has recently enjoyed.
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