![]() ![]() ![]() The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 62 crew. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The discovery of pit houses, pueblo walls, and other ancient cultural artifacts in what was to become Lake Mead caused people to dub the area “ the Lost City.” At the top of this photograph, the southern part of the Moapa River Indian Reservation is visible.Īstronaut photograph ISS062-E-55262 was acquired on February 25, 2020, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 400 millimeters. Anasazi Native Americans occupied the area during that time, hunting, gathering, and building pueblo villages. Among the finds are ancient petroglyphs (not visible in this photo) etched into the sandstone. Significant archaeological artifacts have been found throughout Moapa Valley, with some dating back to 300 BCE. The slab was subsequently faulted and uplifted by tectonic forces, and then eroded by water and wind into the current landscape. This sandstone here formed from ancient sand dune fields that covered the area during the Jurassic Period. At sunset, valley outcrops made of bright, rust-colored Aztec sandstone appear to be on fire, which led early European explorers to give the area its colorful name. Red-orange rock exposures near the center of the photo mark the Valley of Fire State Park, located approximately 40 miles (60 kilometers) to the northeast of Las Vegas. Both rivers empty into the Overton Arm, the northern part of Lake Mead that eventually merges with the Colorado River to the south. The nearby Virgin River, by contrast, is bordered by dark vegetated areas and lacks urban structures. The Muddy River flows through Moapa Valley, where it is bordered by agricultural fields and towns. ![]() The Muddy and Virgin Rivers cut through the desert to deliver water to Lake Mead reservoir. This pass is valid until 11:59 PM of the date listed on the pass.While in orbit over southern Nevada, an astronaut onboard the International Space Station took this photo of brightly colored rocks and deep canyons in the Mojave Desert. Passes are non-transferrable, non-refundable, not replaceable if lost or stolen, and are void if altered or reproduced. Please be prepared to show your hard copy pass or digital pass on your mobile device. The Overlook Vista is a good place to take photos and get a good overview of the lava.Īll visitors at Valley of Fires Recreation Area are required to pay an entrance fee. The Valley of Fires Visitor Center has books, postcards, t-shirts, and information about public lands in New Mexico. The fully accessible three-fouths mile Malpais Nature Trail with interpretive displays starts at the group shelter and leads the visitor into the lava flow. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, turkey vultures, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles. Animals include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barbary sheep, and lizards. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States.įrom a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan desert. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. Valley of Fires recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. ![]() Valley of Fires Rec Area Activity Scan and Pay Pass ![]()
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