BGuthrie Photos: NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park -- Visitor Center

NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park -- Visitor Center:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. VFIRVC_100719_001.JPG: Nevada's First State Park This park, situated on the Old Arrowhead Trail, was designated on March 26, 1935 as Boulder Dam-Valley of Fire State Park. Though four state parks were established by concurrent legislation, Valley of Fire is considered Nevada's first state park as it was dedicated prematurely on Easter Sunday, 1934. Thomas W. Miller of Reno Ioverton-Calientei led the move to establish Nevada's state park system. He was appointed in 1935 as the first park commission chairman. Recognized nationally for its outstanding scenic, geologic, and archeological features, 8,780 acres were patented to the state in 1931 as a state exchange grant. Civilian Conservation Corp companies initiated park development in 1933. State Historical Marker No. 150 Nevada State Park System
2. VFIRVC_100719_005.JPG: Valley of Fire has been designated a National Natural Landmark This site possesses exceptional value as an illustration of the nation's natural heritage and contributes to a better understanding of the environment 1968 National Park Service United States Department of the Interior
3. VFIRVC_100719_008.JPG: Ah, such pleasant weather! Temperature range predictions the day I was there were 89 to 111 degrees.
4. VFIRVC_100719_079.JPG: Fallen Arch The natural arch has fallen. This unique arch is no longer here, but please enjoy the scenery and view the other arches found along the route.
5. VFIRVC_100719_082.JPG: Petrified rock
6. VFIRVC_100719_089.JPG: They Walked the Valley: Petroglyphs: Drawings made on cliff faces, boulders, and bedrock were a major art form for America's early peoples. In Valley of Fire, the most common rock art type is the petroglyph, a symbol cut into a natural rock surface. As style and content reflect continuity and change through time or between regions, petroglyphs help shed light on culture history. Most of the art in the park was made by hunters and gatherers who lived here between 4000 and 1000 years ago. No one alive today or in the recent past made these drawings. Since the people who made them vanished long ago, the meaning of the images found in this rock art cannot now be determined. Only a few ancient symbols are recognized: atlatls, bighorn sheep, people. Why the designs were made and what they mean, we can only guess. Modern Southern Paiute people want the petroglyphs to be protected. They believe the symbols were carved on the rocks by supernatural beings at a time when humans and spirits lived harmoniously together on the earth. With the general decline of religious belief throughout the world, the spirits no longer communicate in this way. The ancient messages still remaining should be respected as sacred sites. Ideas were communicated through these rock art images, but the symbols do not link together to tell a connected story. These designs do not represent speech; rock art is not writing. Rock art is the dimly heard voice of the ancient ones. If you listen carefully, you will heart their faint whispers. Let us show them care and respect, and work together to preserve these links between the peoples of the past and the children of the future.
7. VFIRVC_100719_097.JPG: What Was Left: In the course of everyday life, people produce a lot of trash. Food remains and objects made of plant fibers, animal skins, and other organic materials usually decay within a few years. Sometimes, though, the desert's dry air preserves them. These very rare objects help tell the fascinating story of how human beings lived here. Stone tools and the waste chips from making them, stone fire rings full of ash, bone, and charcoal from long dead fires, broken pieces of pottery, and rock art all testify to how this place was used in the past. What Is Left of What Was Left: Valley of Fire was a favorite campsite for peoples of the past. They left behind many drawings, camp sites, trails, hunting blinds, and roasting ovens. Perishable items are very rare. The most common objects found are pieces of broken pots, chips of stone, and petroglyphs. The archeological record is always fragmentary. Organic materials decay quickly; few baskets, fur and skin objects, wood or even bone tools survive. Most important to remember is that the richest area of human activity leave virtually no traces in the ground. Religious beliefs, medical practices, astronomy, poetry, games and music are some of these poorly preserved areas of human life. The figures in the petroglyph panel above seem to be both human and supernatural -- but a faint echo of the rich intellectual world of the people of the past. Fragile Record: Archeologists learn to read the story of the past in the scanty remains left behind by earlier peoples. Items scattered on the surface of a site can tell part of the story, and objects, ashes, and food remains that are buried can tell how old the site is. The relationship of artifacts to fire pits, water holes, or trails helps create a picture of how people lived hundreds or thousands of years ago. The record is fragile, easily disturbed. To be able to tell the story of the past, the archeologist must find in place whatever peoples of the past left behind. The relationships between objects and their environment in a site are easily destroyed. If artifacts have been removed or holes dug into the site, the story can never be told completely. Only the trained archeologist, who works within strict guidelines and is dedicated to serving the public, should be permitted to excavate. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB ANY ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS YOU MAY DISCOVER. REPORT YOUR DISCOVERY TO PARK RANGERS. HELP PRESERVE THE CULTURAL TREASURES OF THE VALLEY OF FIRE.
8. VFIRVC_100719_100.JPG: The History of Prehistory: Since Valley of Fire lacks springs and streams, the idea that people once lived here was not considered seriously. Archeologists thought that the people who used this waterless area came only occasionally, probably from the "Lost City" villages of the Muddy River Valley. In 1924, when scientific excavation first began in this region, the focus was on those pueblos. During the next several decades, some attention was paid to the petroglyphs here, and in 1961 the State Museum conducted an official survey of Valley of Fire archeological sites for Nevada State Park System. Not until 1976, fifty years after Harrington visited here and named Atlatl Rock, was a scientific excavation finally undertaken in Valley of Fire. Remains Recovered: In 1976, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Department of Anthropology conducted archeological excavations in Valley of Fire. This dig produced unexpectedly rich remains, yielding a glimpse into native life over 4000 years, a far longer span of time than expected. Excavation of three sites in the summer of 1976 yielded somewhat different materials from each. One site, which on the surface did not appear to be especially important, proved to be very deep. It contained evidence of continuous human use, sometimes for a long period of time, from 4000 years ago up to quite recently. Such finds are very rare in the Mojave Desert. They tell us people could survive and even thrive in places that people today avoid unless they have air conditioning and piped-in water. Prehistoric Lifeways: Springtime was the favorite season for Valley of Fire use. Water came from natural tanks and possibly a small, now-dry spring. Food resources were the same as the Valley of Fire offers today: tortoises and big horn sheep; hares and rabbits, lizards, birds, eggs, and insects; seeds, nuts, flowers, and gourds. Some of the remains received in 1976 are exhibited in the replica dig on this panel and on the table behind you. These objects were analyzed by many specialists; archeologists, botanists, zoologists, paleontologists. Their separate reports combined to produce this picture of human life in the Valley of Fire from 4000 years ago about 1400 AD.
9. VFIRVC_100719_105.JPG: Gypsum People: The Gypsum people were nomadic hunters and gatherers whose southern Nevada environment was much like the modern desert. They lived in caves and rockshelters, used from time to time during the year as they moved in small groups throughout their territory. Gypsum people hunted bighorn sheep, smaller animals and birds, and collected edible plants. During the time of the Gypsum People, the desert climate became drier. As streams shrank and plants died out, the bighorn sheep became scarcer. The people tried religious rituals to improve spiritual ties with the animal. The rock art from this time gives witness to their efforts. They also refined their hunting tools, but they failed to adapt to the changing desert. The Gypsum Culture died out.
10. VFIRVC_100719_107.JPG: 4000-1800 years ago (2000 BC - 200 AD) Lifeway: Nomadic hunters and gatherers Dwellings: Caves and rockshelters Diet: Bighorn sheet, small game, seeds and nuts Special traits: Focus on Bighorn Sheep Challenge: Disappearance of water, plants, sheep. Response; Greater effort to take sheep; rituals and tools refined Result: They did not adjust to changing environment. Gypsum Culture died out
11. VFIRVC_100719_110.JPG: 2000-1450 years ago (50 BC - 500 AD) Lifeway: Nomadic hunters and gatherers Dwellings: Caves, rockshelters, large deep pithouses Diet: Bighorn sheep, small game, seeds and nuts Tools: Atlatl/spear; mano/metate. Special traits: Basketmaking Challenge: Continued drying of climate. Response: Exploit more environmental niches by planting vegetables and grain Result: Added domestic food crops to diet
12. VFIRVC_100719_113.JPG: Basketmakers: The Basketmaker people adapted well to the dry climate and scarce food resources of southern Nevada. As bighorn sheep numbers continued to decline, small animals and plants became more important in the diet. Late in the period, domesticated plants began to appear in southern Nevada. The people learned to plan seeds that somehow arrived here from Mexico; corn, beans, squash. Cultivating food crops provided a hedge against hunger, but required the nomads to stay in one place during part of the year.. Toward the end of the Basketmaker period, people moved their homes from caves and rockshelters to large, deep pithouses constructed on high land near streams whose water could be used to irrigate their lowlying garden plots. This change is so dramatic that the people are called by a new name: Anasazi.
13. VFIRVC_100719_116.JPG: 1500-850 years ago (500 AD-1150 AD) Facts: Anasazi-Pueblo Lifeway: Hunting, collecting, supplemented by gardening Dwellings: Villages of shallow pithouses and surface pueblos. Diet: Domestic corn, beans, squash; wild plant foods, birds, bighorn sheep, deer, antelope, rodents. Challenge: Develop dependable food supply; trade network. Response: Added cultivated plants to diet; developed semi-sedentary pattern of residence; trade network linked Anasazi to California coast and to Southwest.
14. VFIRVC_100719_119.JPG: Anasazi-Pueblo: With the arrival here of domesticated plants and the bow and arrow, the lifeway of the Basketmakers changed so dramatically that they are called by a new name, Anasazi. The Valley of Fire continued to attract hunters seeking the bighorn sheep, a main source of meat. The bow and arrow made it possible to take many animals, so even though there was more rainfall in the early part of the Anasazi period, the bighorn populations crashed. Houses and granaries, clustered around open plazas, appeared during the Anasazi period. The period developed a semi-sedentary life style, constructing their small pueblos above streamside gardens planted along the Muddy and Virgin rivers. In spring and fall, the Anasazis hunted and collected in Valley of Fire. In summer, the mountains nearby offered a break from the heat, and a variety of traditional wild foods.
15. VFIRVC_100719_126.JPG: 900 years ago - Now (1100 AD-Today): Facts: Southern Paiutes Challenge: Adjust to very dry climate which had defeated Anasazi-Pueblo farmers. Response: Nomadic lifeway, allowing flexible response to changing conditions. Result: Southern Paiute history is a success story. They have lived in southern Nevada for over 900 years. They adapted to changes in their natural environment and to the powerful new people who settles on their lands.
16. VFIRVC_100719_128.JPG: Southern Paiutes: When the Paiutes arrived in southern Nevada, the Anasazi pueblo dwellers were still here. Because the Southern Paiutes were nomadic, their response to environmental change was quite flexible. They could leave drought-stricken areas and return when the rains improved. Anasazi farmers depended on regular rainfall, and suffered more hardship in dry cycles. They moved away to the east and south, but the Southern Paiutes adapted. They are the modern indigenous (native) people of southern Nevada. The Southern Paiutes call themselves Nuwuvi, meaning The People. Nuwuvi moved seasonally over a large territory that included mountains, valleys, plains, springs, streams, and the Colorado River. They learned when and where different foods would be available, and made sure they were at the right place at the right time to collect ripe wild grains and hunt migratory wildlife.
17. VFIRVC_100719_131.JPG: 450-150 years ago (1541-1851 AD): 1541-1776: Spanish Explorers and Padres: Adventurers and priests attempted to explore this part of New Spain for the Spanish Crown. The desert proved too difficult for the men and horses who tried to cross it, but trade goods passed easily along Indian trade mules. 1824-1849: American, Canadian and Mexican Trappers and Traders: American and Canadian traders and trappers began to move into the region seeking fresh sources of furs. New Mexican traders opened a route to California that passed through southern Nevada. The impact of their horses, traps, trade goods, guns, and slave raids changed the way the native Southern Paiutes lived here. 1844-1854: US Military Explorers, Gold Seekers, and Mormon Settlers: Capt. John C. Fremont (1844) made the first official US trip through the region, and first put many of its features on a map. Later, California-bound gold seekers hurried through. In 1851, the US postal service contracted with a Utah settler to carry the mail between Salt Lake City and San Francisco by way of the trail through southern Nevada. People began to learn that some desert places could be made into farms.
18. VFIRVC_100719_134.JPG: Invaders: Nevada deserts frightened outsiders, whether Spanish, Mexican, or Euro-American. All tried to avoid the area of hurry through it. The Southern Paiute people felt the impact of the arrival of these newcomers, but since routes of travel generally followed streams and rivers, the Valley of Fire remained completely unknown. For about 150 years, beginning about 1700 AD, Southern Paiute camps were raided by Spanish soldiers, Mexicans and New Mexicans, Americans, and even other Indians, armed with guns and mounted on horses. By the time American explorers arrived in the 1840s, the Nuwuvi had learned not to greet outsiders, but hide from them. The land looked empty. Settlers began to move in and take over the land.
19. VFIRVC_100719_137.JPG: Mounted Spanish soldiers and priests first passed through the area in 1541. None ever entered the Valley of Fire, but word of their presence quickly came to the Southern Paiutes. To the left if a drawing of how such a party of explorers would have looked. To the Southern Paiutes, these were strange beings indeed, seemingly half animal and half human. "... we went on the mouth of [the Muddy River] small but apparently unfailing on the bank of which was several Lodges of Indians... They had corn (which was gathered) Pumpkins squashes and some small green Water Melons. I soon purchased some pumpkins and squashes and encamped..." (Fur trapper Jedediah Strong Smith, September 30, 1826)
20. VFIRVC_100719_140.JPG: The people who came into the region killed or scared off the skittish bighorn sheep. Their cattle, sheep, and horses ate up the desert bunch grasses, whose seeds were so important to the Paiute diet. By 1844, when explorer John C Fremont paid a worn-out horse to the Moapa Paiutes for the privilege of crossing the Muddy River, their barely adequate food resources already were declining. Along the Virgin River, the Paiutes killed Fremont's mule driver, then butchered and ate some of the expedition's grazing stock.
21. VFIRVC_100719_144.JPG: 140 years ago-Today (1855-1900s): 1855-Today: Mormon Farmers, Ranchers, and Miners: In 1855, Mormons from Utah built a fort in Las Vegas Valley and a temporary station at the California Crossing of the Muddy River. Within ten years, Mormon farms were established along the Muddy River as well, displacing the native Southern Paiutes. Descendants of both the Paiutes and of the Mormon settlers still live along the Muddy River. 1861-Today: Non-Mormon Settlers: People from many different parts of the world came to southern Nevada to make a new start. In 1905, a railroad opened that linked this remote region to the Union Pacific RR main line at Ogden, Utah and the harbor of San Pedro, California. The same year, the railroad founded the City of Las Vegas to serve as a maintenance yard for its trains. 1873-Today: Moapa Indian Reservation: In 1873, the US government confined the Southern Paiutes to a 1,000-acre reservation on a tiny part of their ancestral lands along the upper Muddy River. In 1882, President Jimmy Carter ordered about 73,000 acres to be added. Valley of Fire was not included, but the reservation now extends to the park entrance road at I-15.
22. VFIRVC_100719_145.JPG: Settlers: Mormon farms and herds of grazing animals hit hard at the hunting, gathering and gardening lifeway of the native peoples. However, the Mormon farmers also employed the Paiutes, and the new foods they brought were attractive substitutes for the native diet. Soon the Valley of Fire's resources became less important to the Paiutes. The road the linked the new settlements became the usual route of travel. The Valley of Fire remained off the beaten path. The new settlers ventured into the area to hunt bighorn sheep there, but for the most part, it remained isolated and unknown. A few of the most curious dared to go there to see the "Indian writings," but only the Paiutes knew how to travel safely through the tortuous canyons. Only they knew about the water tanks.
23. VFIRVC_100719_148.JPG: Mouse on the Edge of Two Worlds: The story of Mouse reveals that Moapa Paiutes retained their ancient knowledge about the Valley of Fire long after abandoning much of their traditional activity. Mouse was a Paiute who worked at Bonelli's Landing on the Colorado River. In January 1897, Mouse began wildly shooting up the Indian camp. Bonelli disarmed Mouse and fired him. Allegedly, Mouse later murdered two prospectors, then disappeared. Months later, Mouse was seen in an Indian woman's farther along the Muddy River. He had left his hideout in Valley of Fire, and his fate was sealed. A posse formed, tracked him down and killed him near West Point. During his six month ordeal, Mouse camped by a "well of pure water" about 12 miles west of St. Thomas -- in the Valley of Fire, at the place now called Mouse's Tank. Local Paiutes probably knew he was holed up there, but they did not betray him. Only when he left Valley of Fire did the authorities learn Mouse was still in the area.
24. VFIRVC_100719_153.JPG: In 1873, the Southern Paiutes were ordered by the federal government onto a small reservation on the upper Muddy River. Confined to a mere 1000 acres, the Nuwuvi no longer could pursue their traditional hunting and gathering, so well adapted to their desert homeland. Moapa Paiutes learned to farm, and their beautiful baskets became popular tourist wares.
25. VFIRVC_100719_154.JPG: 90-60 years ago (1905-1935): 1905: Coming of the railroad: The San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroad ran its first training through the region in 1905. Freight, cattle, and people moved by this new mode of travel. 1916-1926: Arrowhead Trail: The Arrowhead Trail, the first all-weather automobile road i the US opened through Valley of Fire in 1916. People came to see the petroglyphs, Anasazi pueblos, and mountains of salt with prehistoric mines. Lost City pageants, staged near here in 1925 and 1926, depicted imaginative re-creations of Indian life and the exploration of the Southwest, attracted thousands of visitors. 1935: State Park System: Tourist traffic increased despite the Great Depression, and the state decided to create a system of parks to attract still more visitors. The four areas originally set aside included Valley of Fire, ending its long years of isolation.
26. VFIRVC_100719_157.JPG: End of Isolation: Changing modes of travel greatly affected the Valley of Fire in the early 20th century. First the railroad, then a new federal highway diverted traffic from the wagon road network of the 19th century. For a short time, an important regional road passed directly through the future park, but by 1925 the Valley of Fire once again enjoyed lonely solitude. Unexpectedly, the new science of archaeology attracted people to the park and the isolated region of southeastern Nevada. Nevada Governor James G. Scrugham believed tourists would come to Nevada to see the ruins of Anasazi villages on the lower Muddy River. He tried to establish a state recreation area there in the 1920s, but the Boulder (Hoover) Dam construction project prevented it. The tourism value of these sites and the Valley of Fire's dramatic red cliffs with their "Indian writings" finally was realized ten years later, when Valley of Fire became a state park.
27. VFIRVC_100719_163.JPG: Valley of Fire: From Public Domain to Public Park: Automobile touring was a favorite American pastime by early in the 20th century. The Arrowhead Trail through the Valley of Fire, bypassed in the 1920s by the new US Highway 91, remained in use as a scenic route to the fascinating Lost City archeological sites and the theatrical pageants staged to attract tourists to them. The Valley of Fire originally was included in land set aside by the federal government for the Boulder Dam Project (Hoover Dam construction). In 1931, at Nevada's request, the park site was given to the state to be "set apart for all times for state park and recreational purposes, to be known as Boulder dam-Valley of fire state park." In 1935, the long-held dream of Governor James G. Scrugham and southern Nevada residents was fulfilled when the site was named by the legislature as one of four areas in Nevada's first State Park System. Chronology of the Park: 1848-1931: Federal Lands 1931-1935: State Lands, Federal Help 1935-1941: "Boulder Dam-Valley of Fire State Park" 1941-1954: Valley of Fire -- For Sale or Trade 1954-1956: Land Exchange Deplored 1956-Now: Valley of Fire State Park Restored Future: Proposed Acquisitions Federal Lands: 1848-1931: The region today called the American Southwest came into the United States in 1838, as part of the treaty ending the War with Mexico. When this area was added to Nevada in 1864, no one claimed this land and the federal government kept control. In 1931, Nevada received from the United States 8,782 acres of this spectacular scenery, soon to become Nevada's first state part. State Lands, Federal Dollars 1931-1935: Civilian Conservation Corps: In 1931, Nevada took title to the Valley of Fire, but had little money to spend on developing tourist facilities. The federal Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) pushed by former governor now-Congressman James G Scrugham, came to the rescue. A new road and campground were built in the winter of 1933-34, and a large dam constructed around a natural tank to assure ample water for the traveling public. First Nevada State Park: 1935-1941: "Boulder Dam-Valley of Fire" was the largest of the four state parks set aside in 1935. Excited area citizens also made it Nevada's first state park when, on Easter Sunday 1934, a year before Nevada established a state park system, they "jumped the gun" and held a dedication ceremony to celebrate completion of the new road and campground in "Boulder Dam State Park." Valley of Fire: For Sale on Trade: 1941-1954: Nevada's new state park system, the dream of the 'teens and twenties, fell victim in the Great Depression of the thirties. The state had no funds for staff; the campgrounds were neglected and virtually abandoned. The State Park Commission even proposed to give the land back to the federal government. In 1941, special interests sponsored state legislation to allow Valley of Fire acreage to be claimed by individuals who could then exchange the land for "more desirable" federal property in Las Vegas Valley, where real estate values were higher. By 1955, of the original 8752-acre park, 2000 acres had been lost, and 5000 additional acres had been filed on. Only 1752 acres remained untouched. Valley of Fire on the Silver Screen: In the 1920s, famed Hollywood producer Hal Roach discovered the Valley of Fire made a fine background for his westerns. Between 1923 and 1940, Roach filmed five movies here. Horses starred in four of them, while the fifth, "One Million BC," headlined Victor Mature, Lon Chaney Jr, and Carole Landis. More recent movies made by other studios include "Ballad of Cable Hague," "Stalking Moon," "Slaughter Alley," and "Electric Horseman." "The Professionals" constructed a Mexican hacienda and built the original road to White Domes while filming in the park in 1965. Valley of Fire's dramatic scenery provides a setting for numerous commercials as well. Land Exchange Deplored: 1954-1956: Park Restored: After World War II, interest in state parks revived. In 1955, local civic leaders pushed for the withdrawal of all land claims in Valley of Fire, and requested the return of the 2000 acres already lost. The state reorganized its park system, and significantly increased its budget to meet the park system goals first set in 1935: ... acquire, protect, develop, and interpret a well-balanced system of areas of outstanding scenic, recreational, scientific and historical importance for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the people of the state of Nevada and... such areas shall be held in trust as irreplaceable portions of Nevada's natural and historic heritage. Valley of Fire State Park: 1956 to Now: Permanent Parklands for the People of Nevada: Today, the system of Nevada State Parks includes 23 parks totalling 142,000 acres, and served 2.6 million people annually. Valley of Fire State Park now covers 45,000 acres, and is used by more than 312,000 people a year who stat in fifty campsites of picnic at five different day use areas in the park. By the year 2000, the road into White Domes will be reconstructed, restoring to motorists access to this remote area of striking natural beauty. Park Management: Park System policies today are very protective. Public safety and resource conservation are important priorities. Difficult, too, is balancing public demand for development with the needs of wildlife, protecting archeological and historical sites, and serving the visitor who prefers primitive camping. Resolution of disagreements about resources is a major issue in modern park administration. Conflicts arise when commercial interests propose oil or mineral extraction, or when people want to drive vehicles off roads, affecting the soils, plants, and animals in the park. Park policies must address these and other uses which have damaging effects on the land, or interfere with the rights of others to enjoy the beauty, open space, and silence of this unique place. Motoring the Arrowhead Trail: The Automobile Club of Southern California and the Southern Nevada Auto Club joined local residents in promoting construction of a road through the Valley of Fire as a segment of a highway system linking Salt Lake City and southern California. Grazing: Lack of surface water made farming here out of the question. Grazing was possible only seasonally. Today cattle grazing here when the land will support this use. Mining Prospects: Prospectors combed the area for valuable minerals, but the only commercially important deposits here are silica sand, borax, salt, gypsum, and magnesite. Prehistoric Indians made pendants from small pieces of gypsum. Magnesite was mined by Indians and others for use in making clay for pottery. When the park was set aside in 1935, active mineral location was no longer permitted, but some mining claims patented prior to that date are operated in or near the park. This park is now a cornerstone of the state's recreation system, visited by hundreds of thousands of people seeking the outdoor experience that only Nevada's Valley of Fire can offer. The State Park System holds this area in trust for all people as "irreplaceable portions of Nevada's natural and historical heritage." Please help us to keep it always in the beautiful natural state you enjoy today. What is the future of this arid land? State Park administrators have authority to manage the Valley of Fire, but even here federal law regarding mineral rights must be accommodated. Outside the boundaries of the park, most of the desert is public domain land, open to multiple uses managed by several federal agencies. Actually it is the people of the United States who own these millions of acres of arid lands, seemingly empty but in fact filled with fascinating natural wonders, and intriguing history, incredible archeological and historical sites, and remarkable plants and animals. We ourselves determine the future of this and other desert lands. We must see that these extraordinary places are managed well and responsibly by Congress and the state legislatures. These exhibits are offered to help us learn how rich are these lands labelled :desert," to help us make the best possible decisions about them.
28. VFIRVC_100719_200.JPG: Window on the Past: The high gray ridge that fills the skyline across the valley in front of you is made of the oldest rocks exposed in the park. Fossils in these rocks place them in the Paleozoic Era, between 250 and 550 million years ago. The red rocks are younger, laid down in the Mesozoic Era, between 250 and 66 million years ago. [The gray mountains under the "N" in "ON".] An Ancient Sea: 550 to 250 million years ago: Almost 600 million years ago, the sea invaded this area. It advanced and retreated many times for another 400 million years. Most of the gray rocks that you see in front of you are Paleozoic limestones and dolomites made up of remains of the countless plants and animals that once flourished in this warm, shallow sea. The gray mountains that you see here are composed of deposits laid down on this ancient ocean floor during the course of several hundred million years. Fossils of the algae, trilobites, crinoids, corals, brachiopods and numerous other plants and animals that lived in this sea can be found today in these gray mountains. The drawing shows a 500 million year old reef constructed by a group of fossil spongelike organisms called archaeocyaths. The sea is gone now. The massive deposits if left behind slowly wore away under the relentless forces of rain, snow, heat and wind. From the window to the Muddy Mountains across the valley is a distance of about three miles in space, but five hundred million years in time. [The red hills on the right.] The Vanishing Sea: 250 to 66 million years ago: The red sands that you see in front of you were laid down about 200 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era. Then the sea retreated for the last time, and this region became a gigantic plain of sand, silt, clay and gravel. Sluggish streams meandered across the land. Wind and rain, heat and cold operated on the exposed ancient sediments, wearing them away and forming beds of mud, silt, sand, and gravel. For tens of millions of years, a desert even more severe than today's covered this region. Strong winds blew thousands of feet of sand from distant highlands, creating huge dunes. These ancient sand dunes, now "fossilized" and eroded into exotic shapes, are the spectacular red and white formations of the Valley of Fire. The original sequence of all these deposits is shown in the geologic column on this panel. But -- and most important to understanding the view across the valley -- this sequence was changed about 100 million years ago, when older materials were shoved up on top of younger ones, creating the Muddy Mountains. At the same time the thick sandstone deposits in front of the Visitor Center warped upward and eroded, exposing the soft shales of the ancient sea bed underneath. These quickly wore away, creating the broad valley if front of you along which the park road now runs. Geological Terms: * Paleozoic Era: 550 million years to about 250 million years ago. * Mesozoic Era: 250 million years to about 66 million years ago. * Cenozoic Era: 66 million years ago to today. Although the remnants of the Paleozoic thrust plate are visible in the hills, only Mesozoic rocks are present in the valley. The upper plate of the Muddy Mountain Thrust has been eroded away in the Valley of Fire area. Approximately 10,000 feet (3 km) of deposits have been lost to erosion over the past 70 million years. [The little crevice under the second "W" in "WINDOW"] Muddy Mountain Thrust: 70 million years ago: The mountains across the valley are evidence of a major movement of the earth's crust. During the Paleozoic Era, an oceanic plate slide eastward beneath the western edge of North America along the coast of California. The resulting compression in western North America caused thin slabs of gray Paleozoic rocks to be shoved many miles eastward, over the younger red Mesozoic rocks. This Muddy Mountain Thrust Fault, shown here in cross section, reveals the reaction of local geologic deposits to the powerful pressure placed at the edge of the continent hundreds of miles to the west. Geologists now know this thrust is a continuation of the Keystone Thrust exposed in the Red Rock Canyon area west of Las Vegas. The Muddy Mountain Thrust is a very complex fault. In some places in the Valley of Fire it is nearly horizontal, while elsewhere it is almost vertical. Across the valley you see gray dolomite in contact with red sandstone. This high-angle contact, a nearly vertical segment of the Muddy Mountain Thrust, is sometimes called the Arrowhead Fault. Geological Terms: * Fault: Break in the earth's crust along which movement occurs. * Plates: Large pieces of the earth's crust which move in different directions from one another. Most mountain-building events occur at plate boundaries. * Thrust Fault: A gently sloping break in the earth's crust caused by compression. In many cases, such as the Muddy Mountain Thrust, older rocks are pushed on top of younger rocks, reversing the normal order. A Complex Fault: 70 million years ago: Look out the window. Across the valley, the gray rocks you see are much older than the red ones, and until about 70 million years ago, the gray materials lay deep below them. Then compression caused by the interaction of plates off California caused the earth to move, here and the natural order was reversed. This thrust is a very complex fault which geologists still don't understand fully. Erosion: Nature's Tool: 70 million years ago to now: 70 million years or more have passed since the Muddy Mountain Thrust Fault built the huge range across from the visitor center. In that time, approximately 10,000 feet (3km) of deposits have eroded away. Aztec Upwarp: During the same event that formed the Muddy Mountain Thrust, the Aztec Sandstone in front of the visitor center warped upward, then gradually wore away. The soft shales of the Mesozoic bed were exposed and eroded, creating the broad valley in front of you. Only a Remnant: The column on your right shows all of the geological deposits laid down by the ancient seas which created the Valley of Fire, after they were acted upon by the Muddy Mountain Thrust. To your left, the deposits are shown in sequence before this thrust forced the older materials on top of the younger ones. Nearly two miles of rock already have worn away. Erosion: Imagine this landscape completely covered by another 10,000 feet of rock. Such a layer is nearly as thick as the distance between the Visitor Center and the top of the mountains across the valley. After 70 million years of erosion nature is still not finished here,. What do you think the final picture will look like? Erosion is the process of breaking own the removing materials. Agents of erosion may be mechanical (water, freezing, and thawing as snow and ice; wind; pressure from plant roots, animal burrows) or chemical (breakdown of rocks by changes in their chemistry, such as the oxidizing or "rusting" of iron in rocks). The Valley Today and Tomorrow: The geologic forces that act upon our earth are slow but irresistible. Park visitors will see only small changes, such as the crumbling of a cliff face. But all the time, mostly unnoticed, there will be pressures that build mountains and erosion to wear them down. Hundreds of millions of years have witnessed the creation of the valley of Fire, one of the most geologically interesting and scenic areas in Nevada. Preservation of this magnificent area for future generations to appreciate in its natural state is a challenge to the sensitivity and responsibility of every visitor to this desert wonderland. In this drawing of the Valley of Fire today, the Muddy Mountains across the valley are shown at the left, and the brilliant red remnants of ancient sand dunes behind the visitor center are located at the right. The major, open valley between them was carved out as erosion weathered away the Aztec Sandstone covering the soft shales beneath.
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AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Valley of Fire State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valley of Fire State Park is Nevada's oldest state park. It covers an area of 34,880 acres (14,120 ha) and was dedicated in 1935. It derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park's attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays.

Valley of Fire is located 50 mi (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, at an elevation between 2,000–2,600 ft (610–790 m). It abuts the Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence. It lies in a 4 by 6 mi (6.4 by 9.7 km) basin.

Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape. The rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain brilliant formations of eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. Other important rock formations include limestones, shales, and conglomerates.

The park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation. The park has a visitor center that should be visited by anyone planning any off-road activities.

The site is marked as Nevada Historical Marker 150.

History:

Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Ancient Pueblo Peoples, also known as the Anasazi, who were farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley. Their approximate span of occupation has been dated from 300 B.C. to A.D. 1150. Their visits probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited their stay. Fine examples of rock art left by these ancient peoples can be found at several sites within the park. ...

Valley of Fire Road:

Valley of Fire Road is the main road through the park. The 10.5 mi (16.9 km) road connects the east and west entrances of the park. It was designated as a Nevada Scenic Byway on June 30, 1995.

Park features: ...More...
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2014_NV_Valley_FireVC: NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park -- VIsitor Center (19 photos from 2014)
- 2014_NV_Valley_Fire: NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park (126 photos from 2014)
- 2010_NV_Valley_Fire: NV -- Overton -- Valley of Fire State Park (115 photos from 2010)
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2010 photos: My office at the main Commerce Department building closed in October and I was shifted out to the Bureau of the Census in Suitland Maryland. It's good to have a job of course but that killed being able to see basically any cultural events during the day. There's basically nothing of interest that you can see around the Census building. Overnight trips this year: Civil War Trust conferences (Lexington, KY and Nashville, TN), and my 5th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles). Equipment this year: I mostly used the Fuji S100fs until the third one broke and I started sending them back for repairs. Then I used either the Fuji S200EHX or the Nikon D90 until I got the S100fs ones repaired. At the end of the year I bought a Nikon D5000 but I returned it pretty quickly. Number of photos taken this year: about 395,000..
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