Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1990)
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT April 18,1990 Page 2 Summer found at Death Valley by Richard Marx Staff Writer Jay Patterson leads the group past Zabriske Point located In Golden Canyon. J ô 5 H l. O, U ! uc c a. --------- Photo by John Snivefy Some of the students that travelled to Death Valley resting before the hike down Golden Canyon. Pho*oby johnsnMy Some students are examining the salt columns that form, by capillary action, the Devil's Golf Course. ... _. . “The Year of the Lizard” may sound like a reference to a Chi nese New Year, but rather it is a statement that commemorates the 1990 trip to Death Valley as sug gested by John Snively. Fifteenth of the annual for ays that occur each spring break, the trip is catalogued under the title of “Natural History of the Sonoran Desert” in the CCC sched ule of courses. “This is not a vacation nor for the vacation minded, but rather is a three credit course for serious students,” said Snively. As a CCC geology and biol ogy instructor, Snively has more than enough material to pack into every minute spent in the valley. “It has been an extremely dry year,” said Snively. “It is the sec ond year in a row with virtually no rain. Yet, the place abounds with geological wonders and desert life forms.” Snively commented that liz ards were the main abundant ani mals this year, hence the refer ence to “The Year of the Lizard.” Located in south central Cali fornia, east of the Sierra Nevadas, Death Valley lies in the south western area of the Great Basin. In elevation, it runs from 282 feet below sea level at the valley floor to over 11,000 feetabove sea level at the summit of Telescope Peak. In length, the valley runs north south 110 miles and is between 30 and 40 miles in width at the widest point. “There are many places to see at Death Valley, far more than what could be covered in a week. We had to choose what would be the best for the purposes of this trip,” Snively said. Some of the places visited were Dante’s View, Wild Rose Can yon, Race Track Playa, and Scotty’s Castle. A first for this trip was the Keane Wonder Mine where gold and silver were mined for two decades around the turn of the century. When asked of his impres sion of this new place, Snively commented, “it was OK, but not a high priority.” Of the other previously men tioned places, Snively gives some comments of their interest. From the high point of Dante’s View, one could get a view of the valley is more time to concentrate on area in its entirety. At Wild Rose geology,” commented Snively. During the trip, Snively em Canyon are the bee-hive shaped kilns built by miners in the last phasized Latin nomenclature-the scientific names of plants and century. “That is the highest elevation animals. “Each student kept a we reached, about 7,400 feet,” journal in which they recorded Snivelysaid. “There were patches not only names, but also notes on of snow here and the predomi geologic, historical, and other nate vegetation is a forest of Pin general information. There were about 100 plant species and 70 ion Pine and Utah Juniper.” Race Track Playa is noted for animal and bird species catalogued its “moving rocks.” These are fair by the students in their journals.” sized boulders that have been He also said that “the students pushed by winds of great veloci quizzed each other on the Latin ties. Golden Canyon has the land names on the return trip to Ore scape of an alien world. This should gon. This was a first on Latin not be surprising, for “it is where nomenclature for most of them.” The weather at Death Valley part of the first Star Wars movie was shot” stated Snively. “That is mild enough at this time of year was where C3PO and R2D2 got to allow for comfortable camp lost and were captured by the ing. Everyone slept in tents and the food was prepared beforehand Jawas.” This year was hot, not only by so that most of it could be heated Willamette Valley standards, but up and then served. “There was also for this time of year at Death more food than we could eat,” re Valley. “The coolest day was 85 marked Jay Patterson. “Everyone degrees Fahrenheit and the aver . ate really well and plenty of food age daily high temperature was was brought back on the return between 95 and 100 degrees,” said trip. ; “We camped at Texas Springs, Snively. “Also, there was no wind, making the heat all the more back in the ashflows and mud noticeable,” he added. One of the deposits, where it was absolutely students, Jay Patterson (a third- devoid of vegetation,” continued year Death Valley veteran), com Patterson. Both he and Snively mented that “Tuesday night was remarked on the changes in the really warm. The thermometer read resort and campground area. “It 80 degrees in the tent at midnight” . was ecologically a bummer because Mentioning the heat, Snively Texas Springs had been bulldozed added that the “Death Valley over and diverted to irrigate a date region is now going into its third orchard,” Patterson said. “They summer of drought. This has re even filled in the only natural pond sulted in almost no wildflowers, in the campground area. We used which usually appear after winter to come here and cool off in the rains. The few flowers observed evening, when we had spare time. included one trumpet eriogonum, However, we did get to use the a brittle bush, and a turtleback swimming pool at the resort on the last day.” plant.” Two years ago the draws were “In terms of being on track flowing with streams of purple and for continuous observation, this gold from the phacelia and desert has been one of the best groups,” gold daisies. Creosote bush, which said Snively. “The traveling libraiy grows over much of the valley, of field books was in constant use were burned and parched look by the students. There was a con ing. Usually, at least a few have sistent attitude throughout all of some dark green leaves and bright the students. No one on this trip yellow flowers. “Even the cacti had a Vacation concept.*” were dying in places,” stated Sni “A good time was had by vely. everybody,” according to Jay Pat “However, there is an advan terson. “One of the reasons that tage to the lack of herbaceous this group was so good was be plants. One can get a better view cause everyone pitched in to help of distinct plant communities-these and there was a real team effort.” being determined by the domi Finally in closing, Patterson gave nant shrub species at a given loca the byline of the expedition: “like tion and/or elevation. Also, there awesome man!”
