Death Valley National Park: Geologic and Soil Resources Inventory Summary
Henderson T. 2025. Death Valley National Park: Geologic and Soil Resources Inventory Summary. National Park Service
This document summarizes the status of National Park Service (NPS) Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) and Soil Resource Inventory (SRI) deliverables for Death Valley National Park. It also provides information on current geology and soil resources management concerns with a focus on identified inventory needs related to geologic heritage, geohazards, and related soil features and processes. The purpose of this document is to help park staff prioritize technical assistance or new inventory and assessment funding requests in the near term (roughly 1–5 years). GRI hosted a baseline scoping meeting for Death Valley National Park in 2002. Baseline bedrock and surficial geologic maps were first delivered to the park in 2014. SRI delivered a legacy soil database to the park in 2012. Several additional Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil survey areas encompass the Death Valley region. The most up-to-date soil data for the national park is available through Web Soil Survey. Death Valley National Park’s geologic heritage includes a rich geologic history punctuated by several major glacial and tectonic events. With a geologic record spanning from the Paleoproterozoic to the present, rocks within the national park account for multiple stratotype designations and preserve an invaluable collection of paleontological resources. In the arid Mojave Desert environment, the barren geologic landscape is of outstanding aesthetic value and has been featured in various film productions and inspired many generations of artists. The geologic resources of the park share a diverse cultural history that includes Indigenous Peoples, early prospectors, miners, and geoscientists. The park’s geologic and soil resources inventory needs include various data and/or GIS products related to the inventory and monitoring of cultural resources, disturbed lands, fossils, hydrological systems, and stratotypes. Additional needs expressed by park staff or found during literature review are related to geologic resource protection (visitor use), geoscience research, and geologic mapping. Geologic hazards identified in the national park include abandoned mineral lands, cave and karst features, climate change, flooding (and flash flooding), mass wasting, radon, seismicity, toxicological soil, and volcanic activity. Inventory needs related to geohazards include monitoring strategies to help predict, quantify, and mitigate the damage these processes pose to the national park’s geologic and soil resources, infrastructure, visitors, and staff.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Henderson, Timothy
- Date of Issue
- 2025-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- DEVA , GRI , MOJN , PWR , SRI
- Keywords
- Geologic Features, Geologic Hazards, Geologic Heritage, Geologic History, Geologic Processes, GIS, GSRI, Map Units, Mining History, Resource Management, Stratotypes
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Glacial Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Hillslope Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Stream/River Channel Characteristics , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Lake Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Geothermal Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Cave/Karst Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Volcanic Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Seismic Activity , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Soil Quality | Soil Function and Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology