The Context–what bounds Death Valley and vicinity?

We like exploring national parks and other scenic areas we can reach in a day’s drive from Tucson, Arizona. In years past, those trips might be for a run or bike ride. My running started to decline prematurely in my 40s. When I reached 50, I started using bicycles a lot. My wife can still run well, but is happy to ride bikes, too. Meanwhile, point and shoot cameras had become smarter, so I started carrying a camera circa 2005, to record what I saw. Over the years, Death Valley National Park has became our preferred destination when we have a few days free. We line up a room at Furnace Creek Ranch, drive there, then use that as our base of operations to explore the vicinity.

One good context demarcation is the Lake Manly extended watershed. Death Valley is the bed of Lake Manly, the lowest point in a broad region of interconnected lakes when it’s wet enough that the lakes refill. That’s happened many times, with the earliest version of a lake in the valley occurring 3.35 million years ago as glacial climate emerged in North America. Here’s the most recent appearance of that lake system.

We’ve explored a lot of this area and taken thousands of photos. The west boundary of the watershed is the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I’m adding in the west slope of the Sierras as well. That’s a remarkably scenic region that includes the world’s largest trees, the giant sequoias. When my wife and I participated in the Death Ride from 2005-2009, I hauled our bikes to and from the ride and picked up my wife at the Reno NV airport since her work schedule limited her free time. The most direct route is up the Owens River Valley and through Mono Basin. I tended to take longer routes and side trips to the other side of Sierras.

Places in the context, with photos from places I’ve visited.

Parks, monuments, refuges.

Death Valley National Park– at over 3.4 million acres, the largest national park outside of Alaska.

Mojave National Preserve– 1.6 million acres, the 3rd largest unit of the national park system in the contiguous U.S.

Mojave Trails National Monument– 1.6 million acres, on the south side of Mojave National Preserve. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Yosemite National Park– just under 760,000 acres, it is centered around the glacial Yosemite Valley.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks— Administered as one park. Sequoia NP (404,064 acres) includes the biggest giant sequoia, General Sherman, and the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S, Mt. Whitney (14,505). Kings Canyon NP (461,901 acres) is centered on another glacial valley in the western Sierras. Originally named General Grant National Park.

Sequoia National Monument (328,000 acres) brackets Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP on the north and south. It includes 38 of the 39 giant sequoia groves in the Sequoia National Forest, about half of the total number.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (23,000 acres) is a remarkable Mojave Desert oasis. Home to 26 endemic species, the highest concentration in the U.S. A lot of pupfish.

Devil’s Postpile National Monument

Manzanar National Historic Site

Mono Basin National Scenic Area— Protected area that surrounds Mono Lake

Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

Major Basins and Mountain Ranges, east to west.

The region I’m calling the Context is part of the Basin and Range Province of western North America. It’s characterized by north-south aligned mountain ranges alternating with basins (valleys). It extends from the Columbia Plateau in Oregon and Idaho well down into Mexico. The Context is on the west side of province, about midway. Death Valley is the deepest basin and Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Range is the highest peak

The Spring Mountains, west of Las Vegas, are the eastern boundary of the Context, the extended Lake Manly watershed. Their eastern flank drains into the Colorado River.

Pahrump Valley is to the west. In the Pleistocene watershed map at the top of the page, it’s shown as a lake due west of Las Vegas that drained into the Amargosa Valley. The Nopah Range is the largest of several small mountain ranges to the west.

The Amargosa Valley is next. It’s drained by the Amargosa River, the biggest current source of water for Death Valley. It flows south (mostly underground) then swings west and north.

The Amargosa Range runs 110 miles along most of the eastern side of Death Valley. From north to south, it consists of the Grapevine Mountains, the Funeral Mountains, and Black Mountains. Highest point is Grapevine Peak (8738 feet).

Death Valley itself is 140 miles long. It varies in width from 5 to 15 miles.