#ashmeadows — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ashmeadows, aggregated by home.social.
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Because #NevadaBirdCount surveys were in place on #AshMeadows National Wildlife Refuge, when screwbean #mesquites began to decline and die from regional mortality, our #monitoring continued to investigate impacts on the bird community from old & new #restoration projects, *and* this new regional screwbean mesquite mortality.
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NBC surveys began on Ash Meadows in 2003, and regular #monitoring began in 2007, particularly to look at impacts of the Refuge’s #restoration activities on the bird communities there. #NevadaBirdCount #AshMeadows #Nevada
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One of our long-term #NevadaBirdCount projects is at #AshMeadows National #WildlifeRefuge. Established in 1984, it’s an important #desert #oasis, with the greatest concentration of #endemic species in the U.S.
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And all this just a very short drive from Ash Meadows visitor center.
Can continue E and catch highway to return to Las Vegas (and then hop on I-15 to go to California.)
[End thread]
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The first outcrop is very close to the Devil's Hole "fish prison".
This is an open patch of water in a deep fissure in the desert. A small population of unique pupfish lives here, and only here.
The cyclone fencing, barbed wire, and other security measures are to protect the fish from people.
The fish live in their little tiny world, not knowing the human forces in balance that try to protect and destroy them.
Kinda depressing, but the rock outcrop is close...
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Now gonna show some pix from my favorite outcrop near Devil's Hole, Death Valley National Park, NEVADA.
(Yup, that's right. There is a part of Death Valley nestled next to Ash Meadows. Definitely worth a visit.)
From Ash Meadows, we are going to head to Devil's Hole. Then keep heading east into the carbonate hills.
(Thread)
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At the end of that boardwalk is the stunningly beautiful Crystal Spring.
This is definitely as beautiful in real life as it is in pictures. But the hardest part to capture in a photo is the serenity of this place.
From here you can walk back to the visitors center (10 min out, 10 min back) or continue on a larger boardwalk loop where you might see some pupfish.
[End thread.]
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Here is an image of a carbonate spring mound. It is very flat-topped due to the water pressure. It can't go very high due to near constant head pressure.
But, it can spread laterally as flow paths become blocked by deposits and interior crystallization.
So it builds up a little broad mound of carbonate materials. And check out the orthogonal fracturing in the second image!
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Seriously, if you want to feel like youve escaped from it all, just hike this road.
The mountains at far distance right are the northen end of the carbonate Bonanza King cambrian unit hills.
(You'll wanna expand this to its full glory.)
#AshMeadows Amaragosa Valley, NV.
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Beyond Rodgers spring, there was a road closed to vehicular traffic. But you could hike on road and see some subtle features.
Here is a part of the desert meadow where the grasses suddenly became short. As if mowed.
But it wasn't. Those short grass plants are in a waterlogged alkali marsh in the desert! Look close and you can see water between the grass tufts!
This is an example of the subtle changes due to water.
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Further up the road is Rodgers Spring.
It was really deep. I was fascinated watching a long strand of aquatic plant slowly drop, creep over outflow, then slowly stretch out from the current. The whole cycle took a few minutes, like in super slow motion.
I could just imagine this slow dance repeating over and over, over hours, days, months, years, millenia.
This was the only thing moving. You really felt the sense of time passing. Very soothing.
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Here is the view of Longstreet Spring. There is a nice explantory sign here.
There is a nice parking lot and nice pit toilets. The boardwalk makes it very accessible. It is only 2 blocks distance from car to spring. The parking area is always in sight.
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Here is the boardwalk trail leading to Longstreet Cabin and spring.
There is a massive carbonate tufa block you can get up close and personal with.
Henry Longstreet carved his home into a tufa deposit just in the background. He had a spring in his own home in his home's back wall!
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Right near the spring there were some tall dried grasses.
There was a tiny creek here in the meadow, but it was very hard to see because the grasses over grew the stream channels.
This was really common on the short walk. You would see an area with lusher green grasses, hear the gurgling of water, but only if you were lucky could you see the glint of water. Most of the tome the water was hidden beneath the grasses.
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Same pic, but now look at those rocks in midground...
Right there above the spring on the left in image mid-ground. Those layered rocks are part of a apring mound.
As water follows the carbonate layers down, it hits impermeable sediments that block the flow. There is a spring trend going NW that includes this spring. Water percolates up to surface, collects dusts that that cement up by precipitating alkali carbonates. Builds up a mound to spring pressure height. Voila!
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A short easy walk leads to a gorgeous spring pool.
In this scene is a lot of the geological story.
Way in the background are carbonate mountains of the cambrian Bonanza King formation. They are permeable and collect water that goes down dip into Ash Meadows. Under that, there is an even deeper carbonate sequence, too. Separated by a blocking layer.
The deeper waters are warmer, and have a different isotope ratio.
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Where does this path lead?
That's right, this is the the beautiful Point of Rocks trail in Ash Meadows, Amaragosa Valley, NV!
Walking down the short boardwalk loop leads to many geological wonders. Some so subtle that you barely see them until you are right there.
Let's check it out...(thread)
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"Since January 2023, Rover Metals has attempted to conduct exploratory drilling for future lithium mining next to one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet."
[...]
"The protection of Ash Meadows is warranted by current law. Of the 26 endemic species that inhabit the refuge, 12 of these are listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered: the strongest protected status that a nonhuman organism can receive."
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"The Nye County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on January 3rd to amend and approve a letter expressing concern for future and proposed mining activities near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and calling on the Department of the Interior and Congress to analyze and pursue a mineral withdrawal for public lands in this sensitive area."
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Bureau of Land Management has approved exploratory wells drilled immediately adjacent to #ashmeadows , a wildlife refuge managed by US Fish & Wildlife -- which is overseen by the Dept of Interior.
The BLM is overseen by the DOI.
Ash Meadows: unique network of desert springs, supporting endemic plant and animals species. Just drilling these wells endangers the Refuge & all that exists within it.
Why has the Department of Interior allowed things to get to this point?
https://pvtimes.com/news/amargosa-officials-say-lithium-mine-threatens-ash-meadows-oasis-126070/
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Zoom session tonight at 6:30PT. #AmargosaConservancy presents info on the impact of drilling to explore lithium deposits on the border of #AshMeadows National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge hosts the highest concentration of endemic species in the US, many of which are threatened or endangered.
Lithium mining uses massive amounts of water from local aquifers. This would certainly affect the springs at Ash Meadows, & destroy one of the world's most unique ecosystems.