Death Valley geology field trip Badwater

1.7 billion-year-old metamorphic rocks. Quartz-feldspar gneiss dominates the mountain face above Badwater. Photo by Marli Miller. The oldest rocks - Relics of the Precambrian world in Death Valley The steep face of the Black Mountains is made up of some of the oldest rocks in Death Valley. These 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian rocks are the remnants of an ancient volcanic mountain belt with flanking deposits of mud and sand. About 1.8-1.7 billion years ago, these volcanic and sedimentary rocks were severely metamorphosed—altered, recrystallized, and partially remelted by the Earth's internal heat and by the load of overlying younger rocks. The original rocks were transformed to contorted gneiss, making their original parentage almost unrecognizable. 11 million years ago, these venerable rocks were injected with magma that solidified to form the Willow Spring pluton. The diorite to gabbro composition of the Willow Spring pluton blends well with the dark Precambrian gneiss, so you'll have to look carefully to see the contact between the two rock types. The steep face of the Black Mountains rises from the valley floor. Few visitors realize that these mountains are made up of some of Death Valley's oldest rocks. Photo by Ray Nordeen, NPS.

| Death Valley geology | Death Valley National Park | Geology field trip | | Death Valley time| Geologist's page | Image gallery | | USGS Geology in the Parks home | NPS Park Geology Tour home | This site is a cooperative endeavor of the US Geological Survey Western Earth Surface Processes Team and the National Park Service. Please share your comments and suggestions with us! parkgeology@den.nps.gov http://www.nature.nps.gov/grd/usgsnps/deva/ftbad1.html This page was last updated on 6/24/00