.jpg "Bird tracks on sand Death Valley NP CA")
After our first full day in Death Valley National Park we didn’t beat the early birds but did try to get an early start and headed to the .5 mile (.8 km) roundtrip boardwalk to Salt Creek..jpg "Salt Creek trail Death Valley NP CA")
Salt Creek TrailThere actually is a stream of sorts running through parts of Death Valley at over 200 feet (60 meters) below sea level. Salt Creek originates from brackish springs and marshes and the water becomes increasingly salty as it flows downstream. It meanders out onto the valley floor and eventually evaporates into the desert air leaving vast salt flats behind. Even this water, sometimes more saline than seawater, offers an oasis to plants and animals.
.jpg "Pickleweed Salt Creek trail Death Valley NP CA")
PickleweedPickleweed stores absorbed salt in special cells in their succulent stems. When too much salt builds up in a stem segment, the plant replaces it with fresh growth. It goes dormant over the winter when possible rains can increase the creek’s flow and reduce the salinity.
.jpg "Salt Creek Death Valley NP CA")
Salt CreekInsects are drawn into the area and eaten by the Killdeer, which are in turn eaten by Coyotes or even Sidewinders. Yet the most adapted survivors in this harsh environment are the rare and endemic Salt Creek Pupfish.
.jpg "Interp sign for Salt Creek Pupfish Death Valley NP CA")
More than 10,000 years ago pupfish lived in streams that fed freshwater Lake Manly which filled the bottom of Death Valley. As the climate became more arid the lakes dried up leaving the pupfish stranded in permanent waterholes scattered across the desert. They can withstand temperatures from near freezing to 111 F (43.88 C)..jpg "Salt Creek Death Valley NP CA")
I didn’t see any pupfish..jpg "View from Salt Creek trail Death Valley NP CA")
View West from trailFossil evidence reveals life long before the pupfish or its Ice Age lake. The tracks of camels, primitive horses, lion-sized cats and mastodons left in the silty lake bottom have now been uplifted and eroded into these badlands.
.jpg "View from Salt Creek trail Death Valley NP CA")
View East from trailAs we learned at Harmony Borax Works, the ancient salt deposits would later be mined and used by blacksmiths, potters, dairy farmers, housewives, meat packers and even morticians.
Wow, you always have great adventures G!
Craig
Have to agree with Craig, you do have wonderful adventures!! Great shots and information for the day!
Have a great week, Gaelyn!
Sylvia
Love the bird prints and those incredible rock formations! Your new Header is awesome, Gaelyn. Stay safe!
Interesting about the ancient animals that used to roam there. I like the pickleweed and shadow over the creek images.
Great photos of the Badlands. Interesting how flora and fauna will adjust to adverse conditions and find a way to thrive.
What an amazingly unique place! It's fun to see salt creek again, I am always amazed that those little fish can make it through such extreme conditions. Wow.
Your photos of all the different formations and scenery capture the feeling of this area very well! That would be amazing to see those tracks.
Gaelyn: What a stark place to walk, hot salty fish in the desert. That is amazing.
Amazing stuff, Gaelyn. Pupfish? Who knew?! I hope there won't be a test afterward…
Amazing to see such clear blue skies! Lovely.
I was drawn to the same photos as Diane, the tracks across the dune and your shadow shot.
Death Valley is a facinating place.
Wow, it is amazing how the various plants, critters, and fish have adapated to such a tough environment. Great pictures and natural history lesson.
I found all these DV posts so interesting Gaelyn, what an incredible landscape, like nothing I have ever experienced.
It's been years since I've been to Death Valley. Thanks for the memories and taking us on another of your adventures!
I have eaten pickleweed both at the coast and at this particular site and it was especially salty here. I have not seen the pupfish in action either. It would be interesting to see them emerge from their dormant slumber, just waiting for the right conditions to expand.
I am getting an education about Death Valley–I did not know there was a water source there.
Gaelyn, I think you could make hell attractive with your great photos and dry humor. Another wonderful post.
Amazing photos, amazing info, an amazing hike! What beauty and mysteries the desert holds!
Gorgeous! I need to come back and spend more time looking at these when I get home.
I like your adventures very much and that pupfish…i'd like to see that. Got me really amazed. Great captures!
How desolete this looks Gaelyn.
We have trees here which also grow in salty streams and they have one branch with absorbs all the saly so it dies so that the rest of the tree can live. I will show it to you.
Your posts are never boring. I am trying to imagine these fish living in these salty ponds and wonders what happens when it gets so dry that the ponds dry up.
Amazing how hardy those fish are… I love the bird tracks in the sand.
Pupfish! A fish I can relate to.
Interesting (and very practical) that morticians used salt, too.
Fascinating and very informative post, Gaelyn. Amazing how everything adapts perfectly to its surroundings. I wouldn't want to be hiking there when the temperature is 111F!
Janice.
It's really neat to see how many creatures are able to survive in this fairly inhospitable environment.
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Great post and love the header. The new Wednesday meme looks interesting.
Golly Gaelyn I really liked this post. The info is excellent and I learn everytime I visit your blog. Great. I have heard of the Pupfish before, too bad you didn't get to see any. Life is amazing, isn't it. MB
I enjoy your history for the series of photo you took. You did a great job documenting the area. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful scenic shots, as usual, Gaelyn. Those Pupfish are tough puppies!
The first photo looks like it could be a moonscape. I had never heard of pupfish…it is amazing the adaptations that nature can make in order to survive…Darwin would be so happy…
That's one amazing landscape!
The shots are brilliant and make me long to go there.
The prickleweed reminds me of a saltweed I saw on another blog yesterday.
Wonder if they are related.
Really interesting post once again. The View from the the east is quite lovely in its own way. And, I don't think I'd ever heard of pupfish.
So interesting about the pupfish. And everything, really, but especially them. Those succulent plants, too!