Deep Springs Valley
Encyclopedia
Deep Springs Valley is a high desert valley in the Inyo
-White
Mountains of Inyo County, California
. It is east of the Owens Valley
and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and south of Fish Lake Valley
, Nevada, near the California
-Nevada
state border.
California State Route 168
connects it to the Owens and Fish Lake valleys, crossing Westgard Pass
to the west and Gilbert Pass to the north. To the northwest lies White Mountain Peak. To the east lies Eureka Valley
, connected via Soldier Pass in the Piper Mountain Wilderness
, which can be traversed on horseback but not by automobile.
The springs are home to the Deep Springs Black Toad (Bufo exul, or "exile toad"), an endemic species that occurs only in Deep Springs Valley. In the 1980s, a second population of the toads was established several miles away at Antelope Springs as a defense against extinction due to unforeseeable disaster. The population of toads, however, appears to be stable, and even benefits from the presence of cattle that graze around the lake during the winter and spring.
frequently studied by geology students from the University of California
and California State University
educational systems. The intensely folded and clearly visible layers comprise the Cambrian
-aged Poleta formation. Several complex fault systems add to the challenge for geology students to unravel the area's history. The Poleta Folds field area is revered as one of the most complexly folded and faulted areas in California and has been used by generations of undergraduate-level geology
students around the United States
and Canada
. During a typical summer one can often find near-established trails leading to the best outcrop
s.
Also easily visible at the base of the Inyo Mountains
, in the southwestern end of the valley behind Deep Springs Lake, is a sizable faultline
. Up to 40 feet in height, it is evidence of a massive earthquake estimated to have occurred about 2000 years ago. The fault is still active, but studies suggest that it slips about every 4000 years. Deep Springs Lake is intermittently filled and actively precipitating dolomite
, understood to rarely occur in such conditions.
, a nontraditional two-year liberal arts institution. There are also ruins of an early small mining establishment, White Mountain City, in the northwest corner of the valley.
Category: Flora of the California desert regions
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...
-White
White Mountains (California)
The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...
Mountains of Inyo County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is east of the Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and south of Fish Lake Valley
Fish Lake Valley
The Fish Lake Valley is a 25 mi long endorheic valley in southwest Nevada that is one of the Central Nevada Desert Basins. The alluvial valley lies just northwest of Death Valley and borders the southeast, and central-northeast flank of the massif of the White Mountains of California...
, Nevada, near the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
state border.
California State Route 168
California State Route 168
State Route 168 is a state highway in California, USA, which is separated into three distinct segments, in part by the Sierra Nevada mountains....
connects it to the Owens and Fish Lake valleys, crossing Westgard Pass
Westgard Pass
Westgard Pass is a narrow gap between the White and Inyo mountain ranges in the Basin and Range Province of California. Westgard Pass lies entirely within the Inyo National Forest, in northern Inyo County, California....
to the west and Gilbert Pass to the north. To the northwest lies White Mountain Peak. To the east lies Eureka Valley
Eureka Valley, Inyo County
Eureka Valley is located in Inyo County, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. It is approximately 28 miles long and up to 10 miles wide, with elevations varying from 2870 feet up to 8456 feet...
, connected via Soldier Pass in the Piper Mountain Wilderness
Piper Mountain Wilderness
The Piper Mountain Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the White Mountains northeast of Big Pine, California in Inyo County, California....
, which can be traversed on horseback but not by automobile.
Geography
Deep Springs Lake is a playa, a seasonal salt lake, generally drying in the summer to produce a salt pan, with surface water replenished in late spring with flows from nearby springs and snowmelt that travels the length of the valley from Wyman and Crooked creeks, which enter from the north. Birds, and birdwatchers, flock to the Lake during the spring and fall migrations. Surrounding the lake are numerous springs, some artesian, which gave the valley its name.The springs are home to the Deep Springs Black Toad (Bufo exul, or "exile toad"), an endemic species that occurs only in Deep Springs Valley. In the 1980s, a second population of the toads was established several miles away at Antelope Springs as a defense against extinction due to unforeseeable disaster. The population of toads, however, appears to be stable, and even benefits from the presence of cattle that graze around the lake during the winter and spring.
Geology
On the hillsides of the southwestern end of the valley, lie the Poleta Folds, a distinctly visible example of crustal foldingFold (geology)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in...
frequently studied by geology students from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
and California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
educational systems. The intensely folded and clearly visible layers comprise the Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
-aged Poleta formation. Several complex fault systems add to the challenge for geology students to unravel the area's history. The Poleta Folds field area is revered as one of the most complexly folded and faulted areas in California and has been used by generations of undergraduate-level geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
students around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. During a typical summer one can often find near-established trails leading to the best outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s.
Also easily visible at the base of the Inyo Mountains
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...
, in the southwestern end of the valley behind Deep Springs Lake, is a sizable faultline
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
. Up to 40 feet in height, it is evidence of a massive earthquake estimated to have occurred about 2000 years ago. The fault is still active, but studies suggest that it slips about every 4000 years. Deep Springs Lake is intermittently filled and actively precipitating dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, understood to rarely occur in such conditions.
Population
It is the home of Deep Springs CollegeDeep Springs College
Deep Springs is a private, all-male , alternative college in Deep Springs, California, in the United States. A two-year college, the institution currently aims for a student body size of 26, though the number is occasionally lower...
, a nontraditional two-year liberal arts institution. There are also ruins of an early small mining establishment, White Mountain City, in the northwest corner of the valley.
See also
- Eureka Valley, Inyo CountyEureka Valley, Inyo CountyEureka Valley is located in Inyo County, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. It is approximately 28 miles long and up to 10 miles wide, with elevations varying from 2870 feet up to 8456 feet...
- Eureka Valley Sand DunesEureka Valley Sand DunesThe Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are located in the southern part of Eureka Valley, in northern Inyo County in eastern California, in the southwestern United States...
- SwalleniaSwalleniaSwallenia is a monotypic genus containing the single species of grass Swallenia alexandrae, which is known by the common names Eureka dunegrass and Eureka Valley dune grass...
- Oenothera californicaOenothera californicaOenothera californica is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name California evening primrose...
Category: Flora of the California desert regions