Maps

From a very high place comes an image of a very low spot!

Description courtesy Wikipedia: A thermal image compiled of two images taken by the Landsat 7 satellite of NASA. This image is of Death Valley National Park vegetation. As seen in the picture represented by the green coloring, the amount of vegetation increases as the altitude rises. Key: Green = Forest/Vegetation; Rust/beige/brown = Bare ground; Light blue = Salt pans with a little moisture; Bright green = probably irrigation.

photo courtesy NASA (public domain image)

Topo Map with National Park Service boundaries:

Topographical Orientation (Map created by Daniel Mayer using data from the National Park Service)

Death Valley National Monument (formed in 1933) is depicted by the light green shading, while Death Valley National Park (formed in 1994) includes the light green along with the dark green shading.

Ancient lake systems that once existed here many thousands of years ago:

The Death Valley territorial lakes (image courtesy of the United States Geological Survey, USGS)

USGS

While it may seem unlikely now, in the past a large body of water existed in Death Valley, ranging from north of the present-day Stovepipe Wells, to the south past Saratoga Springs. The current name given this water is Lake Manly, named after one of the men who sought help for stranded gold seekers in the mid 1800s. This lake was the result of Ice Age glaciers in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that were in the process of melting. If we stand at Badwater today, we realize that we would have been deeply submerged hundreds of feet in the distant days of yore.

Water and wave action left their marks on Shoreline Butte in the southern valley, along with other locations on the surrounding mountainsides. At its peak size, Lake Manly is thought to have been 80 to 100 miles long, 10 to 12 miles wide, and 600 feet deep. Smaller lakes to depths of 30 feet have formed here since Lake Manly’s reign between 128,000 to 186,000 years ago, and as early as 10,000 years ago, the first people of the region began taking up residence. Lake Manly was fed from the east by the Amargosa River, which first filled Lake Tecopa near present day Shoshone, and then the water continued on into the southern end of the valley to fill Manly. From the west, Lake Manly was fed through Wingate Wash in the southern Panamint Mountains by Panamint Lake in the present-day Panamint Valley, which was in turn fed by Searles Lake of the present-day Searles Valley.

Some references will refer to any lake in Death Valley at any time as Lake Manly, essentially saying that this lake is always in varying stages of existence through the ages – one source refers to a 2005 partial filling of the valley as Lake Manly. In contrast, the United States Geological Survey states on their website: “Several lakes have occupied Death Valley since the close of the Pleistocene Epoch 10,000 years ago, but these younger lakes were quite shallow compared to Lake Manly.” Agreement of geologic and historic aspects of this legendary land may sometimes be lacking, but the grandeur of this natural world can always be assured to keep our enthusiasm high.

Lake Manly, north of Badwater (photograph by Janet Westbrook, Maturango Museum, Ridgecrest, California)

As Janet says, “Lake Manly shall rise again!” Her photo was taken in January 2005, and is looking southwest towards the Panamint Range. You may visit Janet Westbrook’s Death Valley informational website, which is loaded with huge amounts of useful information, by mousing here.

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NEED A GREAT MAP? READ ON …

For a top-notch Death Valley territorial map, The Old Trailmaster highly recommends Tom Harrison’s outstanding cartographic skills. Tom produces the “Death Valley National Park Recreation Map” for those who seek the best guidance. It is a large topographical map, overlaid with paved and dirt roadways. The roads are rated for difficulty by their iconic designation, and the map’s colors make it easy to read. The size of the words work well even for folks who are visually challenged. The large map is printed on waterproof plastic, which makes it perfect for rugged exploratory use while in the backcountry. It will stand up to years of wonderful safaris into this primal land. Yes, it costs more than most (last check it was $8.95), but it is money well-spent, especially for those who choose to venture far off the beaten path. Here is a sample of the map, which has been down-sized for disply on this website. The actual size is considerably larger and easier to read:

a small portion of Tom Harrison's map (actual map is much larger than shown)

Tom’s website offers many map choices in addition to Death Valley. Visit it HERE. Or, call him direct at 1-800-265-9090 for prompt service. Tell him Steve Greene, The Old Trailmaster, sent you (Tom wrote the Foreword for my first Death Valley book).

Here is a short note from Tom himself:

I love maps. I love them so much that I’ve made it my career to publish maps. They contain bits of history, geology, and culture that can make the landscape come alive. Maps can be confusing to many people and it is well worth spending some time learning to read a map to make your visit to Death Valley, or anyplace else, a little more enjoyable.

To get a sense of the scope of Death Valley you would need a small-scale map, about a 1:250,000 scale. A small-scale map shows a large area in small detail and you really can’t concern yourself with every little bend in the landscape if you want to take in Death Valley on one single map. When you want to do some more detailed exploring of an area, then you should look for a large-scale USGS 7.5’ (seven and-a-half minute) topographic map which has contour lines showing elevations. A large-scale map shows a small area but in large detail.

These 7.5’ maps are also known as “quad” maps because each one is a quadrangle that covers 7.5’ of latitude and 7.5’ of longitude. The scale on a “quad” sheet is 1:24,000 which means 1 unit of measurement on the map represents 24,000 units of measurement on the ground. In this case, on a 7.5’ quad, one inch would represent 2000 feet (24,000 inches equals 2000 feet). Compare this to the 1:250,000-scale map you would need to cover all of Death Valley. Here, 1 inch would represent 3.95 miles. To get all the 7.5’ maps that cover the Death Valley area would require dozens of maps, and many of them would have very little information that would really help the average traveler to the region.

In between the 7.5’ and 1:250,000 scale maps are a few other maps that may or may not be useful. There used to be a series of maps called the 15-minute series, but the USGS has abandoned the production of these maps. They were produced in the 1950s but have been replaced by the 7.5-minute maps. There is also a series of maps at a scale of 1:100,000 which is used as a base map by the Bureau of Land Management for their Desert Access maps. If you use one of the topographic versions, be aware that the contour intervals are in meters rather than feet. And one of the more useful maps around, even though it is not a topographic map, is the “Triple A” map, although it is actually produced by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

No matter which map you use – and many people use more than one map because they all have different ways of showing the landscape – spend some time getting acquainted with it. Look at the legend and see how the roads and trails are represented. Is the contour interval 40 feet or 200 feet? It makes a difference when you start planning a hike! If you use a GPS unit, does the map have a grid, and is it lat/long or UTM? Note the datum and be sure to set your GPS to the datum on the map. Many GPS units come from the factory set at a 1983 or 1984 datum, but USGS maps use a 1927 datum.

Maps and guidebooks are the starting points for your adventure. They can help you plan and dream about where to go and what to do once you get there. But in the end it is all up to you to have the kind of experience that is so enjoyable that you want to get back out and explore someplace else. Dream it, plan it, and do it!

- Tom Harrison