Darwin Falls Wilderness
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The Darwin Falls Wilderness is a protected area in the northern
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
adjacent to Death Valley National Park. The wilderness area was created by the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The wilderness includes portions of the Darwin Plateau and the Darwin Hills. Much of the higher elevations are
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
volcanic rocks Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...
while the lower elevations to the southeast in Darwin Canyon are dominated by
Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...
marine
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
and
metasedimentary In geology, metasedimentary rock is a type of metamorphic rock. Such a rock was first formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and e ...
rock. Though the wilderness is traditionally considered to be within the northern Mojave Desert, some classifications acknowledge floristic affinities with the colder deserts to the north and consider this the Southeastern Great Basin Ecoregion. A desert scrub community is common in the wilderness with Joshua tree woodlands at higher elevations. The high point of the Darwin Falls Wilderness is at an elevation of in the Darwin Hills. The lowest elevation is in Darwin Canyon at .


Darwin Falls

Darwin Falls Darwin Falls is a waterfall located on the western edge of Death Valley National Park near the settlement of Panamint Springs, California. Although there exists a similarly named Darwin Falls Wilderness adjacent to the falls, the falls themselves ...
, for which the wilderness is named, is actually located outside the wilderness in adjacent Death Valley National Park. The lowest region of the wilderness area is to the east in Darwin Canyon, which then descends into Death Valley National Park where the spring-fed falls are located less than from the wilderness boundary. Darwin Falls is in a narrow, shaded gorge where perennial flow and pools allow for a riparian habitat uncommon in the Mojave Desert. The falls are most easily accessed from the east through Death Valley National Park and not through the more remote and difficult terrain of the Darwin Falls Wilderness. Darwin Falls, the Darwin Falls Wilderness, and all other areas named "Darwin" in the vicinity are named after
Darwin French Doctor Erasmus Darwin French (1822–1902)Mary Ellen SnodgrassFrench, Erasmus Darwin (1822–1902)in ''Settlers of the American West: The Lives of 231 Notable Pioneers'', McFarland, 2015. Page 61. was an American man of adventure. He was born N ...
(1822–1902), a local rancher, miner, and explorer.


Access

The nearest settlement is the community of Darwin. Access to this wilderness is via State Route 190 through
Panamint Valley The Panamint Valley is a long basin located east of the Argus and Slate ranges, and west of the Panamint Range in the northeastern reach of the Mojave Desert, in eastern California, United States. Geography The northern end of the valley is in ...
approximately 30 miles east of Olancha and along the road into Darwin or down the Darwin Canyon Road.


See also

*
Darwin Falls Darwin Falls is a waterfall located on the western edge of Death Valley National Park near the settlement of Panamint Springs, California. Although there exists a similarly named Darwin Falls Wilderness adjacent to the falls, the falls themselves ...
* Protected areas of the Mojave Desert *
North American desert flora North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...


References


External links

* {{authority control Wilderness areas of California Protected areas of Inyo County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Bureau of Land Management areas in California