Flash Flood! EarthCache
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This cache is located on the Red Rock Canyon Loop Drive within the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. This is a fee area of the BLM, and costs $5.00 per vehicle. This fee is covered in the Golden Eagle Passport, Golden Age Passport, and Golden Access Passport. The Loop Drive opens at 6:00 a.m. every morning. Closure times are as follows: November 1 through February 28, 5:00 p.m.; March 1 through March 31, 7:00 p.m.; April 1 through September 30, 8:00 p.m.; and October 1 through October 31, 7:00 p.m. Please be aware that the desert tortoise is protected by law. If you are fortunate enough to see one, please view and photograph it from a distance.
There is parking just off of the Loop Drive, past the main channel of Red Rock Wash.
Water seldom flows in the dry washes of the desert, but when it does, the results can be spectacular. Once or twice a year, the city of Las Vegas and the surrounding area will experience a 1 to 2 inch rain, and the water will flow down washes, sweeping away every thing in its path. (The plaque at the Red Rock Wash overlook, at 36 08.867 115 28.382, contains a picture of cars in a flash flood). This cache will take you up a dry wash, where you can see the effect of water's action in the desert. As a cautionary note: Please do not attempt this cache when heavy rains are in the area!
Cut-bank (given coordinates)
Walk up the wash towards the coordinates. Notice the color and amounts of the different rocks in the streambed. The gray stones are of dolostone material, and came from La Madre Mountain, up the V-shaped valley at the head of this wash. Also in the wash are tan sandstone rocks from the nearby sandstone hills.
The action of the water has cut a 2 to 3 foot deep channel at this location. In the cut-bank, large rocks are being exposed. Imagine the force it took to move these stones to this location. Look at the sizes of the boulders in the cut-bank. Are there more large sandstone boulders or dolostone boulders? Why do you think there is more of one than the other?
To log this cache:
1) Send me an email stating whether there are more large sandstone boulders or dolostone boulders in the cut-bank. Explain why this is so.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
Tingley, J.V. et al. Geologic Tours in the Las Vegas Area. Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 16.
Taylor, L. 2002. DRI News. Collision Course: When Flash Floods Hit the Desert. (visit link)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Floods and Flash Floods - The Awesome Power. (visit link)
Additional Hints
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