Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater is vivid evidence of a geologic force that shapes Death Valley and, at about 2,000 years old, is much younger than most geologic features. It formed when rising magma turned groundwater to steam and intense pressure built until the superheated mix of steam and rock exploded, creating the crater. The explosion hurled shattered rock over a six-square-mile area, in some places to depths of 150 feet. Ubehebe is the largest of many explosion craters in the area, measuring a half-mile across and about 500 feet deep. To the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe of Death Valley, this crater is Wosa, Coyote’s burden basket, the place where the people emerged to spread in four directions across the land.

California · United States