The Titus Canyon backcountry tour is like driving through a geological history book of Death Valley. Death Valley is basically a "graben", the fancy name geologists give a valley formed by two blocks of the earth's crust sliding up and down. When these blocks moved, the uplifted mass formed the mountains around Death Valley. Then, came a lake laying down layers upon layers of marine sediment and various fossils. The water left and again the landscape changed. Volcanoes spilled out lava and the shifting earth's crust folded ancient rock. The slow changes to the landscape continue today. Here we saw how wind and rain carve the ancient rock.
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