.5 Mile Roundtrip Hike To Ancient Volcanic Rocks Smoothed By A Waterfall

The Fossil Falls Archeological District has a short, easy, and exciting .5 mile roundtrip hike to a volcanic rock slot canyon smoothed out and made into whimsical shapes by an extinct waterfall that resulted in the runoff of the massive glaciers in the tall Sierra Nevada Mountains in the last few Ice Ages. The fun area is located in the Coso Range, just east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and north of the Mojave Desert. While exploring, you can marvel at the sharp lava rocks made smooth and imagine the roar of the waterfall that once poured through the canyon until 10,000 years ago, when the river changed its course due to yet another eruption.

The Ancient Ones used to live in the area starting around 20,000 years ago as they hunted the large Megafauna I talked so much about in my history podcast episode, like the Giant Ground Sloth and the Mastadon. They also hunted the many many birds that would have migrated seasonally between the hundreds of massive deep lakes which used to inhabit the basin and range of the American Southwest.

Eventually though, the Alti-thermal made the area far too hot and the people abandoned the region. When the Southwest cooled again and mammals could yet again live in the harsh environment, humans made a return migration to the region. They carved petroglyphs into the black volcanic rock and probably took shelter from the heat in the amazingly smooth empty pools that remind you of slot canyons on the Colorado Plateau. Flaked obsidian pieces from the American Indians are everywhere and I found multiple pieces in the dry river bed.

North of the trail is a red cinder cone known as Red Hill and to the east is a line of ancient volcanoes. Enjoy the wonderful views and history of this peculiar and quiet spot near the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains and Death Valley National Park.