Thursday, April 28, 2011

Classic Case of Protecting Nature While Taking Advantage of It

Road Trip ~ eastern Sierras ~ Death Valley


  
Zabriskie Point is famous.  Some big deal director made a movie here.  I must admit I was curious about its pedigree but upon arrival, man's stamp on it melted away and I was enamored only with its natural and intriguing beauty.  My husband and I were so taken that we went back at night to watch the sun set and the moon rise over the undulating hills.

 If you look closely, you will see two people standing on the round
hillside to the left of center.  That helps you get a feel for the scale.

It was man's stamp, however, that preserved this incredible landscape.  When the demand for boron diminished, mining companies realized that the other-worldly aspect of Death Valley would attract a brisk tourist trade.  Along with other features I have already blogged about, imagine the Race Track where small boulders leave a trail behind them as they seemingly moving on their own yet no one has either seen them move or figure out how it's done, or Artists Canyon where the hills are layered with stripes of color, or a large volcanic crater, or ...... There was also pressure to get some kind of sanctuary protection for the area and eventually it became a national park.  (Google it.) 


Zabriskie Point is in the mountains to the east of the floor of Death Valley.
Note to the left is Telescope Peak, below to the far right on the valley floor is Devil's Golf Course,
and a "dry" creek bed gushes with tremendous force downhill during a winter storm.






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