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Searles Valley is a wide, flat expanse in the empty basin and range country towards the north of the Mojave Desert, enclosed on most sides by the huge China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Dry, barren and inordinately hot for much of the year, it was many millennia ago filled with the waters of Searles Lake to depths of up to 600 feet, evidence of which is provided by wave-cut terraces marking the former shoreline, still clearly visible on the grey hills all around. However, much more dramatic relics of the former lake are the Trona Pinnacles, a group of 500 narrow spires up to 150 feet tall formed by underwater deposition of tufa (calcium carbonate) from ancient mineral-laden springs along a fault zone on the lake bed. They now sit isolated and slowly crumbling away near the south end of the valley, surrounded by many square miles of flat, dried mud and with stark mountain ranges at either side.
Location: The pinnacles are recognized as a National Natural Landmark and are reached by CA 178, a connecting road between US 395 and CA 190, which leads into Death Valley 40 miles after Trona. This small town is the nearest settlement to the pinnacles and has a strange mixture of run-down shacks, elegant modern dwellings and sprawling chemical works - a large area of the valley nearby is used for extraction of salt and a variety of other minerals. The turn off to the NNL is a few miles south, along a signposted dirt/gravel track that is rather severely graded in places but otherwise ok. The road leaves CA 178 to the south, crosses a railway line then follows it for 4 miles to the edge of the formations. Several side tracks branch off around and between the cluster of rocks, and one continues, across the Spangler Hills and meeting a main road again a few miles further.
The Pinnacles: The spires are quite obvious even when seen from the main road and look intriguing from afar - a long line of sharp points that seem quite alien in the otherwise dead flat dry lake bed. They are perhaps best viewed from a distance as up close the mounds are dusty and weathered with rather drab colours. Walking around is interesting enough though, and the pale badlands beyond are worth exploring too. Sunsets are particularly pretty, especially viewed from the top of the small hilly area to the south, when the towers glow orange-yellow and are etched against the gaunt hills of the Slate Range at the eastern edge of the valley. Beyond, the Panamint Mountains rise higher still, topped by 11,000 feet Telescope Peak.
The pinnacles of the National Natural Landmark have some similarities to those at Pinnacles National Monument, an otherwise unconnected site set in wooded, hilly land near Salinas, close to California's Pacific Coast.
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Hotels: 24 miles from Trona and 21 miles from the pinnacles, the desert town of Ridgecrest offers a fair selection of hotels; one of the largest is the Best Western China Lake Inn at 400 S China Lake Blvd (CA 178), located in a mostly residential district though close to various shops and half a dozen restaurants. The inn is a 52 room building on 2 floors, with parking at the front and a small outdoor pool, hot tub & bbq area at the rear; all rooms contain a microwave, refrigerator, ironing facilities & a coffee maker.
Check rates at the Best Western China Lake Inn
More hotels in Ridgecrest
Satellite Photo/Map: View above the Trona Pinnacles:
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