On Tuesday morning after enjoying more of the sculptures near Borrego Springs, we headed back to the southern portion of the park to an area called Fish Creek Wash which includes Sandstone Canyon at about the 14-mile mark in the wash. A geologically fascinating area where the geologic history spans over 200 million years. While it was all amazing, the sheer number of recent fossils (shells, stems, seeds, worms, burrows and small coral) deposited in shallow seas near the end of the last glaciation was staggering. Apparently, there are wooly mammoth and other recognizable critter fossils in the area also. We did not see them, but in our first foray up the road, we stayed pretty close to the track.
Just beyond where we turned west up the wash there is an active gypsum mine. US Gypsum has been actively working the mine since the 1920’s. The gypsum deposit is approximately 250 feet deep, and characteristics of the gypsum indicate that it was probably deposited by underwater thermal vents when this area was part of the Imperial Sea. Millions of years ago, the Imperial Sea existed as far north as the Coachella Valley which includes the Salton Sea and area north of there. From the south shore of the Salton Sea to Mexico, the area is designated as the Imperial Valley. Fossil remains of corals, mollusks and sand dollars indicate that the Imperial Sea existed before the Americas were joined at the Isthmus of Panama — a connection existed between the Caribbean Sea and the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
The road was very interesting and a fun drive. A bit washboarded (my watch recorded almost 30,000 steps in the 24-mile drive), but just more reason to add a small tire compressor to the on-board equipment so that we can depressurize the tires and smooth out the ride. Amazing canyons varying from wide area vistas to slot canyons. There is a primitive camping area up on a terrace above the canyon floor a few miles in that looked like a nice spot to spend a night. Most of the trail is on BLM land and there are a couple of areas that are closed off, but there were ample other camping spots available.
