AMARGOSA RANGE. Ig} 
The northeastern side of the range is not impressive, the crest line 
rising only 2,000 to 4.000 feet above the Amargosa Desert and 
Sarcobatus Flat. On the other hand, the crest is from 5,000 to 7,000 
feet above Death Valley, and in consequence the southwestern slope is 
steep, deeply cut by canyons, and set with numerous rugged peaks 
and pinnacles. The ridge culminates near its north end in Grape- 
vine Peak, 8,705 feet above sea level. Wahguyhe Peak, with an ele- 
vation of 8,590 feet, is a magnificent truncated cone. 
The Amargosa Range from Death Valley presents a somber ap- 
pearance, the grays and blacks of the Paleozoic rocks predominating. 
The northern and middle portions of the range, as seen from the 
Amargosa Desert and Sarcobatus Flat, are colored by the rather 
brilliant reds, yellows, white, and grays of rhyolite flows. 
The valleys heading in the range from the east are wide and gently 
sloping, and in some places, as at Indian Pass, broad detritus-filled 
embayments extend almost to the range crest. The stream channels 
on the southwestern side of the range are deep canyons, which, near 
the higher peaks, are sunk 3,000 feet beneath the sharp ridges on 
either side. The tortuous stream bed of Titus Canyon is only 40 
feet wide, and from it the rocks rise sheer 200 feet, while the slope 
to the ridges 2,000 feet above is very steep. The canyon walls to a 
height of 40 feet are water polished, and cloudbursts have recently 
lodged bowlders 50 feet above the stream bed. The smoother reaches 
of the stream gradient are separated by transverse rock walls from 
10 to 100 feet high. These barriers, which in most regions would 
cause waterfalls, are formed of resistant rock strata. 
The eastern side of the range, from Chloride Cliff southward to 
the boundary of the area here discussed, is topographically older than 
the rest of the range, being a land surface 1o be correlated with simi- 
lar tracts in the Panamint, Belted, and Kawich ranges. (See pp. 99, 
119, 202.) A smaller area of this older topography is situated north 
of Thimble Peak. These portions of the range are characterized by 
dome-like mountains, shallow and gently sloping valleys, deep soil, 
and comparatively few and inconspicuous rock exposures. 4 he area 
north of Thimble Peak is surrounded by deep-cut canyons, and the 
drainage lines pass precipitously from the mature upland to the young 
gulches. This mature topographic surface at one time extended over 
the whole mountain range, but is now preserved only where advan- 
tageously situated. Since it forms the eastern slope of the range south 
of Chloride Cliff and is not present on the western slope, it may be 
inferred that the grade of the streams on the west has been greatly 
increased by a rather recent depression of Death Valley. This de- 
pression occurred probably in early Pleistocene time, since a similar 
Bull. 308—07 m 11 
