A Hole in the Ground Where the Wind Does Not Go: Inside Ubehebe

Date: March 8, 2013
Place: Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park, California
Coordinates: 37.01083, -117.45490
Difficulty: strenuous

On the morning my friend and I had left Panamint Springs, the looming storm was still looming. After spending some time looking for wildlife around the ghost town of Ballarat we headed eastward over the mountains and into Death Valley itself. By then, large raindrops were falling and the smell of first rain (in the desert almost every rain has that first rain smell) filled the air. Of the bloom spectacle I promised my friend, there was no sight. The valley, however, was not barren. Little yellow flowers dotted the wide gaps between the Creosote and brittlebush shrubs: Desert sunflower, all over the place!

And up close. The lively bright yellow was a much appreciated sight in the otherwise pre-storm glum. The little suns on the earth made up well for the hidden sun in the sky!

Desert Sunflower (Garaea canescens)

I've been to Ubehebe Crater twice before, and even wrote about it here. I wanted to show it to my friend also. My plan was to walk around the rim. The wind, however, was so gusty and strong that we soon abandoned that idea. Instead, thinking to find refuge from the wind, we wend down the cinder trail into the crater itself.

The trail to to the bottom of Ubehebe

There is no hiking trail inside the crater. Once down (and away from the wind) we simply wandered about, looking for interesting sights, and easily finding them. I was impressed by the layers of packed volcanic ash that make the colorful eastern wall of the crater.

The eastern wall of Ubehebe

Run-off water had cut narrow crevices into the crater walls. It was very tempting to squeeze into them and see how far back they extended.

None extended very far. Still, it was an interesting experience.

The trail and the western crater wall, viewed from inside a crevice

 The crater is a basin with no way out. Run-off water evaporate, leaving a flat and smooth surface at the lowest part of the crater. At this place, where water is last to leave into the air, the Creosote bushes are the largest and lushest. Right there, these bushes are as tall as a person.

Surrounding the evaporation plain, the bottom of the crater is strewn with colorful rocks that make a pretty mosaic between the Creosote bushes.

And not just the rocks are colorful there: the unassuming grayness of the desert holly shrub is dotted with scarlet flowers.

Desert Holly (Atriplex hymenelytra). Photo by עננת

 Taking Papa Quail's advice, I am adding here a rim photo of Ubehebe, to give a proper scale of where we've been on this visit. I missed taking a rim photo on this visit, so this photo is pasted from my previous hike there, on October 2011.

Ubehebe - an almost full view. Taken on October 2011.

We wandered for a good hour at the bottom of Ubehebe. Going back up was not easy: the cinders trail takes much effort to ascend and the wind increased with every step upward. We didn't stay long at the top. huddled in our winter clothing we escaped into the shelter of the car and continued south to Death Valley, facing the on-coming storm.  

Many thanks to my friend עננת for identifying the plants and for allowing me to use her desert holly photo.

A Little Volcano in a Big Desert: Ubehebe Crater.

Place: Ubehebe crater, Death Valley National Park, California

Coordinates: 37.01420, -117.45356

Date: October 12, 2011

Level: easy. 

Death Valley National Park is one of my favorite places in California and if it hadn't been a full day's drive away from my home, I'd probably visit it more often. Ubehebe crater is located at the north region of the park, a bit removed from the more visited parts of Death Valley. I don't know how many people would drive all day just to see Ubehebe, but if you do travel to Death Valley National Park, it is definitely worth visiting. I have visited Death Valley National Park three times already, and Ubehebe twice. The photos presented here are from our latest visit, in October 2011.

Ubehebe is a large crater in a volcanic field. Its age is unknown but estimated to be no older than 8000 years. There are several adjacent, smaller craters, but Ubehebe is the largest of them, about half a mile in diameter.

There is a 2-miles loop trail that goes all around the crater's rim, with and option to go down to the bottom of the crater. 

Ubehebe - an almost full view

Despite the barren appearance, the area does get some precipitation. Little salt flats are what left when collected water evaporate.

A small salt flat on the slope of Ubehebe

Desert weathering creates a jarred-looking scenery. The big crack on the valley floor is a deep wash. Normally it is dry, but when rain comes it can flash-flood. 
I just love to see the colorful rocks and the light-shadow patterns of the cracked landscape.

A dry wash jarring the arid valley floor.

The top part of the crater wall, beautifully patterned with little run-offs, like an artistic knit-work hem.

A close-up of the crater wall.

Ubehebe is deep in the desert and we visited there in October, after a long summer and before the rains. We didn't expect to see much greenery there, and sure enough, there wasn't a lot. But there was some.

A brave desert survivor.

The dark soil was dotted with small, leathery leaf rosettes.The reddish-pink color is that of carotenoids and flavanoids that protect the plants from excess radiation. Naturally, desert plants would have more of these pigments. Enough to override the chlorophyll's green.

Hairy leaves

These leaves are also pretty hairy. The white hair cover serves to reflect back excess sunlight and also to limit transpiration and conserve the plant's precious water.

It being October, we didn't expect to see any flowers, but we did! Here is a pretty composite bush - a velvet turtleback. It is small and its flowers are tiny. Still, it added a jolly splash of color to the dark volcanic soil.

Velvet turtleback (Psathyrotes ramosissima)

As did this pretty pink: 

Bigelow's monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovi)

Animals are found there year-round but what we've seen mostly were shy lizards, too quick to photograph. We were lucky to come across a red-tail hawk lurking in the bushes. This is the darkest form of this species that I've seen. 

Soon enough it got tired of our attention and took off. 

Taking flight

There are several craters in the area of Ubehebe. Here is a smaller one.

One of Ubehebe's neighbors

The walk was easy. There are no major height changes on this trail and the circular path allows a wonderful view of every corner of the crater. There is a trail that leads inside but the chicas were already tired so we didn't get to the bottom of it.
If, no. When you go there - make sure to bring lots of water and sun protection.  I will also add that although our visit was in mid-October, it was still (not very surprising) very hot. The best time to visit Death Valley is in late February - early March, when the temperatures are more welcoming and, if it is a rainy year, the desert will be carpeted with wildflowers.
So don't forget your camera!