The Amargosa Chaos & Jubilee Pass

Just west of the town of Shoshone is a very striking set mountains on the south end of the geological fascinating Black Mountains.  Take S.R. 178 to this mountain range that includes Salsberry Pass (at 3,315 ft.) that was named after the pioneer miner, Jack Salsberry, and Jubilee Pass (at 1,290 ft.).  Even as you approach, you'll notice that these multi-colored mountains look as if Mother Nature had thrown them together in a most twisted and random manner. Geologists know these colorful and oddly shaped mountains as the Amargosa Chaos.

A good way to make the most of your time in this area is to see the Amargosa [glossary] Chaos along with a visit to Virgin Spring, Ashford Mill and/or Scotty's Canyon.  The colors of these mountains are the most spectacular in the early morning or late afternoon daylight so try to arrange your arrival into or out of Death Valley accordingly.  Another option is to visit in the winter months when the sun is low in the sky throughout the day.

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  Getting There
The only paved road into this area is S.R. 178 which runs east/west through the southern portion of Death Valley.  There is also a dirt road that goes to the Chaos called Harry Wade Road. The area of the Amargosa Chaos is defined as the mountains between where S.R. 178 heads west at the junction with S.R. 127 and the floor of Death Valley.

From the east (Shoshone):  This is the best direction of travel to see the Chaos from a paved road.  Take S.R. 178 west into southern Death Valley. 

From the south (S.R. 127):   The intersection of S.R. 127 and Harry Wade Road is about 30 miles north of Baker and is just past the Salt Creek Hills Riparian area.  Look for a wide, dirt road on your left (west).  This road is also used to access Owl Hole Springs Road, Saratoga Springs and other points of interest in this southern-most part of Death Valley. 

Geology
Many of the mountain ranges in and around Death Valley have multiple colors, but the mountains through Jubilee and Salsberry Pass are different.  Not only do they seem especially jumbled and distorted but they have a unique set of colors, too.

For anyone to begin understanding this complex landscape, you first need to know a little bit about the basics of "formations" [glossary].  Like the walls of the Grand Canyon, where you see different-colored layers that were "formed" on top of each other, Death Valley has its own different-colored layers (formations), too.  To learn more about formations, see the Geology chapter. 

Geologist Levi Noble began studying this area in the 1930's and found that this area of the Black Mountains have been faulted [glossary] and folded in a very complex way.  He began referring to this phenomena as "chaos".  It seemed obvious that these mountains were deformed under extreme stresses.  Some geologists even hypothesized where older rock masses were laid on top of younger rock.  This means that, at some point in Earth's history, some chaotic event must have occurred and "flipped-over" several different formations.  Even though this hypothesis later proved to be not true, the mountains in this area were obviously warped in a way that's very different from mountains found anywhere else in the California/Nevada region.  Noble also found a fault [glossary] that runs parallel to the Earth's surface which divides the older and newer rock layers.  This could be another piece to the Chaos puzzle.

With the help of Levi Noble, the Chaos was further studied by current-day geologists Bennie Troxel and Lauren Wright.  A paper published by Troxel and Wright in 1987 offers a more up-to-date explanation to what is going on at the Chaos.  They found that, due to various geological forces (including crustal extension and, later, uplift [glossary]), various formation layers had been squeezed to 1/10th of their original thickness.  This meant that formation layers that were, in some places, originally 500 to 2,000 feet thick, had been stretched and squeezed down to between 50 to 200 feet thick!  As this squeezing took place, many chunks from the different layers were mixed together and today appear as what geologists call "megabreccias" which are large, random blocks of rock that have been cemented in with rock from other formations.

If you would like to read the 1987 paper written by geologists Troxel and Wright, click here.  This paper also includes a section about the Death Valley turtlebacks.

Today, geologists are still studying this area, trying to determine exactly what caused this Chaos.  For those of us who are non-geologists, we just sit back and enjoy the many beautiful colors and strange shapes.  And we can marvel at the awesome power that Mother Nature must have used to create such incredible scenery! 

Photo Tour:
Click on picture to enlarge
Pictures taken: February 2003

	Looking southwest, heading towards the first summit in the Amargosa Chaos.  Even though these mountains are well-rounded, indicating a lot of erosion has already taken place, there certainly is evidence that some powerful, chaotic geological forces happened here.  The highest mountain is Salsberry Peak named after miner Jack Salsberry.
	This is the small valley found between the two passes.  Much of the Chaos is to the north of the road.  Telescope Peak and the snow capped Panamint Mountains are in the background.
	Looking north from the road as it goes through the valley.
	Another view looking north.  The highest peak is a side view of Epaulet Peak (see below).
	One of the blocks in the Amargosa Chaos.  This is looking at the southern face of Salsberry Peak.
	Looking eastward, towards the backside of Sheephead Mountain.  The opposite side of this mountain is a segment of chaos that is easily visible from the Tecopa area.
	Another one of the colorful blocks.
	More of the Chaos.  This view is looking towards Virgin Spring, at the far right.  This view also shows the beginning of the Black Mountains that stretch northward along the eastern flank of Death Valley to Furnace Creek.
	A view of S.R. 178 passing through the lower Jubilee Pass.
	Some of the more colorful geology seen closer to the valley floor.  These formations were most likely caused by rapid cooling and are common in other areas around Death Valley.  They are not really related to the chaos.
	Epaulet Peak, which Levi Noble named himself because it looked to him like the armored shoulder pads of a fancy doorman or butler.
	Lauren Wright and the best example of pure Amargosa Chaos that he helped to make more understandable.  This fine example is found along the pavement of S.R. 178 about 7 miles east from its intersection with Badwater Road or 17.5 miles west from 178's intersection with S.R. 127 near Shoshone.  Here one can easily see the compressed layers of four formations which were originally several hundred feet thick.
	In springtime, this area, as well as many other places around Death Valley, come alive with various wildflowers.
	Here is a closer look at these particular wildflowers.  If you happen to visit this region in springtime, look for blotches of yellow in the distance.  Chances are, they are large fields of these flowers.

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Last updated March 03, 2007

June 2005 Version
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