SerpApi.Org
California has no shortage of geological marvels, many tucked within one of the state's national parks. But to view a fossilized, dry waterfall formed hundreds of thousands of years ago from an ancient river that once flowed over prehistoric lava, you just have to turn onto a short dirt road off Highway 395 and walk less than half a mile.
Fossil Falls is an incredibly accessible natural wonder, and yet it feels like discovering one of the state's best-kept secrets. It's also a crash course in California history, transporting visitors back millions of years, to when volcanoes frequently erupted and glaciers covered portions of the land.
The Coso volcanic field sits just below Owens Valley, adjacent to the modern 395 highway that shuttles Southern California northward to Mammoth Lakes and beyond. Six million years ago, the range was made up of several small volcanoes that would routinely burst with black basalt lava. It would flow through the region, spreading across the landscape and covering the ground in the thick substance. As it cooled, gases would get trapped, causing holes and inconsistencies in the formed rock.
The last eruptions occurred more than 20,000 years ago, marking the end of a long period of volcanic activity in the region. But the basalt had already left a lasting effect on the area, blanketing much of it in thick black rock.
While it's difficult to picture this part of California teeming with water and life, the last ice age crafted an interconnected system of lakes and rivers flowing through this area of the high desert. Water from melting glaciers poured into Owens Lake, which would branch out into rivers that snaked throughout the region. The rushing water from the Owens River slowly smoothed the basalt in Fossil Falls as it flowed, sculpting the rocks with the ebbs of the stream.
Other geologic changes are also visible at Fossil Falls. Walking around the area, small round holes pockmark the black slabs of rock. Red Hill, the red cindercone volcano visible from the falls, threw off chunks of basalt that would get trapped in small whirlpools that drilled these circular potholes into the ground.
The river was a valuable resource to the Native people who lived along it starting around 6,000 B.C. and again around 4,000 B.C. when the climate was tolerable. They hunted animals, gathered plants and even carved tools from the nearby obsidian, a sort of volcanic glass that you can still see scattered around the falls. Because of the significance of the area and the artifacts found there, Fossil Falls was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological district in 1980.
Eventually, the water disappeared, and now the geologically significant site "feels a little bit otherworldly," said Sarah Preston, a Ph.D. student in UCLA's Earth, planetary and space sciences department who is studying the falls.
Preston said this type of natural wonder is very rare in California, and she encourages visitors to bring a magnifying glass and really examine the rock because you can see the evidence of what made the falls themselves. If you look closely, she said, you can also often see a mineral called olivine, which is green and is a principal mineral in the Earth's upper mantle.
She laughed and said that sometimes visitors are disappointed, though, because "the falls themselves are the fossils." There are no fossils or a waterfall, at least in the more traditional sense. "That always catches people by surprise," she said.
As you walk from the parking lot at Fossil Falls, which is adjacent to an 11-site campground, the rocky desert ground punctuated by creosote bush and cacti gives way to deep-colored black rocks that get craggier as you reach the cliff of the ancient falls. Dropping at least 40 feet to the ground below, it's best not to get too close to the edge as the rocks can be slippery. To fully explore the falls, there are safe ways to climb down farther away from the ridge.
Fossil Falls is a short, round-trip hike of less than a mile, but the area has lots to explore for those willing to spend a bit of extra time. There's even a bathroom, a picnic table and some informational signage at the parking lot, courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management. A word of caution, though: It can get very hot in the summer, so bring plenty of water.
Best of all, because Fossil Falls sits well away from national park congestion and far from a nearby town, it's rarely crowded. You may even have the place to yourself.
"I can't think of anywhere like it," Preston said.
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