Trona Pinnacles photo Richard Elliott
In the Searles Valley, about 12 miles south of Trona, CA, and easily accessible by a 5-mile dirt road, are the Trona Pinnacles. This surreal landscape has over 500 tufa (pronounced too-fah) towers of calcium carbonate, ranging in size from large boulders to 149-foot tall monoliths of limestone. The 14-square mile area encompassing the tufas has been protected as a National Natural Landmark, established in 1968 by the U. S. Department of the Interior. How were these towers created?
All of the tufas were formed under water. Visiting there you might ask, “What water? It is dry desert everywhwere you look!”
Long ago, during the Tioga and Tahoe Ice Ages, from 25,000-100,000 years ago, the melting glacial waters from the Sierra Nevadas flowed from Owens Valley to Death Valley, creating a series of huge lakes. Where you drive and walk through the present-day tufas used to be under 600-plus-feet of water. Below the lake beds were mineral-rich hot springs, bubbling up through fissures in the earth, into the lake. Over thousands of years, calcium carbonate was formed when combining with groundwater and carbonate brine, all bonding together with algae colonies. Small, hollow tubes grew to become tufas. The Trona Pinnacles are the best examples of tufas in North America.
Tufa shapes reflect the size, flow, and chemical composition of the hot springs, combined with the lake depth and the rate the lake rose and fell.
Archaeological exploration of the Searles Valley area has revealed that ancient man lived here thousands of years ago, and made large spear points and Atlatls (throwing sticks) dating from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. These Atlatls were later replaced by bows and arrows. Also, camel and wooly mammoth bones have been found around Searles Lake.
If you find any archaeological items, DO NOT MOVE THEM. Federal law prohibits moving or taking these important artifacts. Instead, call the Bureau of Land Management in Ridgecrest at 760-384-5400 with the information of your find.
Today, the area receives less than 3″ of rain annually and is baked by temperatures above 115F. Prairie falcons and ravens may be seen nesting in the tufa towers. Other animal life includes kit fox, coyotes, kangaroo rats, desert iguanas, horned lizards and sidewinder rattlesnakes. Should you see a desert tortoise, please stay 15-feet away or more, and do not bother them. March -June they forage for needed food. Tortoises live up to 80-years.
Nearby are the rails of the shortest regulated railroad in the country. Freight trains leave the mines of Trona filled with borax and potash, used in the making of almost everything from fiberglass to fertilizer. The dry lakebeds of Searles Valley hold one-half of the natural elements known to man. One of these minerals is called “Trona.” In early-day mining, 20-mule team wagons hauled borax from Searles Lake.
For those liking to collect mineral samples, the annual Gem-O-Rama event at Searles Lake attracts rockhounds worldwide to gather Halite and Pink Halite, along with other minerals. The event is hosted by the Gem and Mineral Society and is held in October each year.
The Trona Pinnacles were the backdrop for several motion pictures, such as Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes, Star Trek V, The Gate II, and Disney’s “Holes.” Scenes were also shot here for the 1960’s TV show Lost In Space.
Should you pass through Trona on your way to Death Valley or other points of interest, be sure to schedule an hour or two to include the scenic drive or hike through the Trona Pinnacles.
Sources: www.desertusa.com/cities/ca/trona.html and informative plaques at the Trona Pinnacles.
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