Title: Geology - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Headings: Geology
Geology
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Content: Evidence of this can be seen in the fresh fault scarps exposed near Badwater. Erosion and Deposition
Concurrent with the subsidence has been slow but continuous erosion. Water carries rocks, gravel, sand and silt down from surrounding hills and deposits them on the valley floor. Beneath Badwater lies more than 11,000 feet of accumulated sediment and salts. Lost Lakes
In addition to structural changes, Death Valley has been subjected to major climatic changes throughout the past three million years. During North America’s last major Ice Age, the valley was part of a system of large lakes. The lakes disappeared approximately 10,000 years ago, evaporating as the climate warmed. As the lakes evaporated, vast fields of salt deposits were left behind. A smaller, now vanished, lake system occupied the basin floor about 3000 years ago. Yesterday's Volcano
Signs of recent volcanic activity exist in northern Death Valley at Ubehebe Crater.