Water on the Rocks 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.
Water is the most scarce commodity in the desert. Finding small pools or “tanks” of water often means the difference between life and death for desert animals. This earthcache will introduce you to some of these small hidden treasures.
Most washes in the Mojave Desert contain a mixture of sands, gravels, and harder materials such as bare sandstone or caliche (calcium carbonate). In some areas, the water has eroded out small basins or cache pockets in these harder materials which are able to store water. Depending on the vegetative cover, surface area, and aspect of these basins, water may last well into the hot summer months.
The Pool (N 36 09.188 W 115 26.213)
From the parking area, walk down the trail to the site of this pool. You should not have to leave the trail to reach it. Footprints of many animals are likely to be seen here since this can be a critical source of water for ungulates (bighorn sheep and deer), as well as frogs, toads, birds, bats, and several species of invertebrates. If you are fortunate enough to see animals utilizing this water source, please do not approach, but view and photograph from a distance.
To receive credit for this Earthcache, send me an email with the answers to the following questions:
1.) From the display at the first set of coordinates, what is the name given to these small caches of water?
2.) At the second set of coordinates, estimate the depth of the pool. How many small pockets are carved out in the streambed sandstone in the area 100’ downstream from this pool?
Take a picture with you and your GPS receiver at the pool. Post your picture with your log when you log your find.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
Informational sign at site.
Batzer, D.P., Rader, B.R., and Wissinger, S.A. 1999. Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. pp. 792-810. Preview online at:
(visit link)
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