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All the United States California Inyo County Artist's Drive

Artist's Drive

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

Inyo County, California

Added By
Zach Rapport
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  Justin V / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  Findingbalance18 / Atlas Obscura User
Artist’s Drive   Moun10Bike / Atlas Obscura User
Artist’s Drive   Moun10Bike / Atlas Obscura User
Another view of Artist’s Palette   Brocken Inaglory
Wide view of Artist’s Palette   Joanna Kalafatis
Artist’s Palette   Rick Cooper
Artist’s Drive panorama   Paxson Woelber
Artist’s Drive   Su--May
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  WhiskeyBristles / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
Painters pallet   jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
Food being fried on the car hood in artist’s drive   CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Artist’s Drive   Stacey Karacia / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Death Valley conjures images of a rugged, desolate, monochromatic landscape of sun-blasted mountains and blistering, arid valleys. Artist's Drive, however, is a meandering road along the face of the Black Mountains that reminds visitors of the colorful, dynamic—albeit ancient and slow-moving—geological activity that shaped the area.

This one-way, south-to-north loop branches off of Badwater Road and up through an alluvial fan that formed during the Miocene epoch, between 23 million and 5.3 million years ago. While modern ape species arose and diversified and human ancestors branched off from chimpanzee ancestors to begin their own evolutionary adventure, violent, explosive volcanic activity formed what is now known as the Artist's Drive Formation.

Mineral-rich deposits reaching depths of 5,000 feet were subsequently eroded by infrequent but intense flash floods that roared down the deep valley, exposing buried deposits of iron, mica, and manganese to oxidize in the bone-dry air. Iron turned pink, red, and yellow; mica slowly combusted in green hues; and manganese added shades of purple, creating the brilliant rainbow of colors that paint the silent canyons today.

While the main scenic stop along the drive is found roughly midway at the formation known as Artist's Palette, the entire nine miles of Artist's Drive's twisting, dipping ride through the ancient mountainfront range provides dazzling colors on one side and breathtaking views of the salt flat below on the other. Fans of deafening quiet and sci-fi landscapes will be pleased. 

Related Tags

Film Locations Roads Geology Geological Oddities Panoramas Deserts Martian Landscapes Ecosystems

Know Before You Go

Artist's Drive is a one-lane, one-way road that runs south to north, so it's best incorporated into a drive from Badwater to Furnace Creek

Community Contributors

Added By

Zach Rapport

Edited By

RHyzer, CoolCrab, Moun10Bike, WhiskeyBristles...

  • RHyzer
  • CoolCrab
  • Moun10Bike
  • WhiskeyBristles
  • darabrown3237
  • Findingbalance18
  • Justin V
  • jyackabonis
  • Stacey Karacia

Published

April 22, 2016

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Sources
  • http://www.hikespeak.com/attractions/artists-drive-in-death-valley/
  • http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deva/ftart1.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_of_interest_in_the_Death_Valley_area#Artist.27s_Drive_and_Palette
Artist's Drive
Off Badwater Road, between Furnace Creek and Badwater
Inyo County, California
United States
36.329949, -116.829976
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Badwater Basin

Inyo County, California

miles away

Devils Golf Course Landscape

Inyo County, California

miles away

Harmony Borax Works

Furnace Creek, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Inyo County

Inyo County

California

Places 14

Nearby Places

Badwater Basin

Inyo County, California

miles away

Devils Golf Course Landscape

Inyo County, California

miles away

Harmony Borax Works

Furnace Creek, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Inyo County

Inyo County

California

Places 14

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