Mark P Betts
Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park
This little canyon is so beautiful and interesting. The striped base rock is the Noonday dolomite and it is also very old - about 700 million years old. It was later deformed but as you can see, is still relatively level. Some call this a marble but it is a very low grade marble.
It is located near the base of Tucki mountain which rises up behind, to the South, of Stovepipe Village. Just after you leave Stovepipe Village traveling toward Panamint Spring, you will notice a road sneaking up a massive alluvial fan. This is the road to the parking area for the trail. It is also a hint of the wonderful sight you will see walking up the trail. All the material in the fan had to come out of the canyon you are going to walk up. This much material is enough to sculpt some fantastic shapes if the canyon walls are hard enough.
As you can see, the Noonday dolomite is certainly hard enough to be sculpted by the sand and cobbles that come roaring down the canyon during a flash flood.
The canyon is not named Marble Canyon, however, it is named Mosaic canyon. If you look on the right side of the canyon wall, you will see why. A conglomerate has filled in two sculpted alcoves in the canyon wall. The conglomerate is named for its appearance - Mosaic.
One way that the Mosaic conglomerate is deposited, is for a
boulder fall to block the canyon. The dark material along the canyon floor would build up behind it, filling in the swirls of the canyon until it reaches the top of the boulder dry fall. Caliche cement forms rapidly in this desert environment and solidifies the new Mosaic deposits. If a subsequent flood removes the boulder blockage, a new period of down cutting in the canyon will rapidly remove the new caliche cemented Mosaic rock. Only the Mosaic rock protected by alcoves in the much harder Noonday Dolomite will remain.
The result is a gorgeous, fluid-shaped canyon that is a delight to see.
S0A8982
Mosaic Canyon Death Valley National Park
This little canyon is so beautiful and interesting. The striped base rock is the Noonday dolomite and it is also very old - about 700 million years old. It was later deformed but as you can see, is still relatively level. Some call this a marble but it is a very low grade marble.
It is located near the base of Tucki mountain which rises up behind, to the South, of Stovepipe Village. Just after you leave Stovepipe Village traveling toward Panamint Spring, you will notice a road sneaking up a massive alluvial fan. This is the road to the parking area for the trail. It is also a hint of the wonderful sight you will see walking up the trail. All the material in the fan had to come out of the canyon you are going to walk up. This much material is enough to sculpt some fantastic shapes if the canyon walls are hard enough.
As you can see, the Noonday dolomite is certainly hard enough to be sculpted by the sand and cobbles that come roaring down the canyon during a flash flood.
The canyon is not named Marble Canyon, however, it is named Mosaic canyon. If you look on the right side of the canyon wall, you will see why. A conglomerate has filled in two sculpted alcoves in the canyon wall. The conglomerate is named for its appearance - Mosaic.
One way that the Mosaic conglomerate is deposited, is for a
boulder fall to block the canyon. The dark material along the canyon floor would build up behind it, filling in the swirls of the canyon until it reaches the top of the boulder dry fall. Caliche cement forms rapidly in this desert environment and solidifies the new Mosaic deposits. If a subsequent flood removes the boulder blockage, a new period of down cutting in the canyon will rapidly remove the new caliche cemented Mosaic rock. Only the Mosaic rock protected by alcoves in the much harder Noonday Dolomite will remain.
The result is a gorgeous, fluid-shaped canyon that is a delight to see.
S0A8982