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    Searles Valley and Trona
    Searles Valley contains Trona, Pioneer Point, Argus, and Westend. Located in the area are chemical plants, abandoned mine sites, the Trona Pinnacles, Poison Canyon, and Fish Rocks. Military lands are adjacent to the valley on the east and the west making many interesting sites inaccessible. The northern part of the valley is in Inyo County and the southern portion of the valley lies in San Bernardino County. (Click here for area map)

    RELATED PAGES:
    Southern Argus Range pictures
    Trona Services and Places of Interest




    FEATURED VIDEOS:



    Searles Valley From The Air (February 2011)    Quick view of trip pics
    1. Video of Flight - Short song called "Flying" and some excerpts from flight.
    2. Great Falls - Looking down on rock formations separating the wash from the upper basin.
    3. Valley Wells - The golf course with Slate Range and Panamint Range in background.
    4. Populated Area - Aerial view of most of the populated areas of the valley.
    5. Pioneer Point #1 - View from Inyo side of the county line.
    6. Pioneer Point #2 - Cedar to Hemlock along the highway.
    7. Pioneer Point #3 - Southwest corner with water tower.
    8. Trona #1 - Fire department and school in front of residential area.
    9. Trona #2 - View expanded to include part of the chemical plant.
    10. Trona #3 - Chemical plant with Argus Dunes showing in the background.
    11. Trona #4 - Chemical plant, Argus Dunes, and Argus on upper right.
    12. Telescope #1 - Looking over top of Slate Range at Panamint Range.
    13. Argus Peak - Great Falls area and Argus Peak.
    14. Redlands Canyon - Redlands Canyon behind Slate Range.
    15. Slate Range - Communications facility on ridge of Slate Range.
    16. Briggs Mine - Briggs Mine at bottom of Redlands Canyon.
    17. Telescope Peak #2 - Snow on Telescope.
    18. Reilly - Looking down on Reilly.
    19. Mine Roads - Roads on hilltop just north of Water Canyon.
    20. Water Canyon - Looking up Water Canyon.
    21. Orondo and Davenport - Mines just north of Homewood Canyon.
    22. Homewood Canyon - Crow Canyon and most of the rest of Homewood Canyon.
    23. Gold Bottom Dunes - Dune area on top of hill in Slate Range.
    24. Ophir Area - Ophir Mine area with Panamints showing in the background.
    25. Searles Lake #1 - The not so dry lake.
    26. Chemical Plant - Somewhat fuzzy view of the chemical plant.
    27. Golf Course - Dirt golf course at Valley Wells.
    28. Runway - View of runway just before landing.
    29. Searles Lake #2 - Neat colors and patterns out on the lake.
    30. Searles Lake #3 - Another look at the ponds on the dry lake.
    31. Trona Airport - The main building at the airport.

    Trona Pinnacles (January 2011)    Quick view of trip pics
    1. Video featuring Trona Pinnacles covered in snow!
    2. Snowy Pinnacles #1 - Looking south early January 3rd.
    3. Snowy Pinnacles #2 - Another view from north of the Pinnacles.
    4. Railroad Crossing - Along the road leading to the Trona Pinnacles.
    5. Snow On The Tracks - Sounds like a Bob Dylan album.
    6. Restroom #1 - Look closely to see a person near the restroom at center of image.
    7. Snowy Pinnacles #3 - Winter wonderland in Searles Valley.
    8. Snow Covered Signs - Kind of hard to read with all that snow in the way!
    9. Snowy Pinnacles #4 - Lots of cold white stuff!
    10. Snowy Pinnacles #5 - The white sky blends in well with the white ground.
    11. Snowy Pinnacles #6 - Yet another snow-covered pinnacle.
    12. Snowy Pinnacles #7 - Fluffy snow on bush in foreground.
    13. Snowy Pinnacles #8 - Lots of movies with the Trona Pinnacles, but none with snow!
    14. Snowy Pinnacles #9 - Looking westward with hills in background.
    15. Snowy Pinnacles #10 - Interesting snow-covered spires!
    16. Snowy Pinnacles #11 - Another view of the previous spires.
    17. Snowy Pinnacles #12 - There are quite a large number of pinnacles to view!
    18. Snowy Pinnacles #13 - An impressive group of spires!
    19. Snowy Pinnacles #14 - Looking across Searles Valley towards the Slate Range.
    20. Snowy Pinnacles #15 - Another view with the Slates in the background.
    21. Snowy Pinnacles #16 - Numerous spires under a cloudly sky.
    22. Snowy Pinnacles #17 - Another cluster of spires surrounded by snow.
    23. Snowy Pinnacles #18 - More snow and tufa formations.
    24. Snowy Pinnacles #19 - More tufa spires and snow!
    25. Snowy Pinnacles #20 - The elevation here is only 1800 feet above sea level.
    26. Clouds and Slate Range - Low clouds blocking view of the Slate Range.
    27. Snowy Pinnacles #21 - Tufa towers and snow!
    28. Snowy Pinnacles #22 - Dark clouds and more tufa and snow.
    29. Snowy Pinnacles #23 - Ancient spires and fresh snow!
    30. Snowy Pinnacles #24 - The Trona Pinnacles range in age from 10,000 to 100,000 years old.
    31. Snowy Pinnacles #25 - The stubby formations are sometimes called tombstones.
    32. Snowy Pinnacles #26 - More slender formations are sometimes called cones.
    33. Snowy Pinnacles #27 - Looking north towards Trona.
    34. Snowy Pinnacles #28 - The snow melted rapidly once the clouds dispersed.
    35. Snowy Pinnacles #29 - Pinnacles are composed primarily of calcium carbonate.
    36. Tunnel - Tunnel at base of tufa formation.
    37. Restroom #2 - Lone restroom surrounded by tufa towers.
    38. Snowy Pinnacles #30 - The toothy tufa ruins are sometimes called ridges.
    39. Tufa Sandwich - Tufa towers sandwiched between clouds and snow.
    40. Tracks, Snow, and Tufa - Looking south along the railroad tracks.
    41. blackturtle.us - Explore the Trona Pinnacles Up Close!

    Trona Pinnacles (April 2006)    Quick view of trip pics
    1. Pinnacles #1 - Pinnacles from a distance.
    2. Pinnacles #2 - A single erroded spire.
    3. Pinnacles #3 - Interesting formations.
    4. Pinnacles #4 - Looking north towards Trona with Pinnacles in foreground.
    5. Pinnacles #5 - Road through Pinnacles area.
    6. Pinnacles #6 - Group of pinnacles.
    7. Pinnacles #7 - Several pinnacles.
    8. Pinnacles #8 - Another group of pinnacles.
    9. Ravens on Pinnacles - Close up of top of a pinnacle with two birds on top of it.
    10. Landmark Register - Department of Interior Plate dated 1968.
    11. Rattlesnake On Trail - Rattlesnake stretched out on trail.
    12. Rattlesnake By Rock - Snake under rock sticking out tongue.
    13. Mine Tunnel - Tunnel built into pinnacle.
    14. Fish Rocks View #1 - Rocks painted with fish faces.
    15. Fish Rocks View #2 - Another view of rocks with fish faces.
    16. Poison Canyon View #1 - Highway through Poison Canyon.
    17. Poison Canyon View #2 - Another view of highway through canyon.
    18. Ruins View #1 - Ruins at Borosolvay.
    19. Ruins View #2 - Another view of ruins.
    20. Ruins View #3 - More information about Borosolvay on map page.
    21. Ruins View #4 - Steps into concrete structure.
    22. Westend Plant - View of Westend plant from Borosolvay.
    23. Chemical Plant - View of Chemical plant with Telescope in background.
    24. Movie Sign - During the filming of "Just Add Water" (aka, "One Part Sugar") the movie company replaced the Searles Valley sign with this "Trona" sign.
    25. Searles Valley Sign - This is the normal sign encountered when driving into Searles Valley.
    26. Trona Airport - Actually located in Inyo County a couple miles north of Pioneer Point.
    27. Happy Face - Someone at the chemical plant has a sense of humor!
    28. Smoke Stack - Wider view of portion of chemical plant.
    29. Rec Hall - Old recreation hall in Trona.
    30. --- Older Item ---
    31. Playground - A .mov file of kids shooting baskets on the playground with the beautiful plant billowing clouds of smoke as a backdrop.
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