Tag: California

California, located on the west coast of the United States, is renowned for its diverse landscapes, vibrant culture, and significant economic influence. From the sun-kissed beaches of Southern California to the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains, the state offers a range of natural beauty. The state is home to iconic cities like Los Angeles, known for Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and San Francisco, famous for its tech innovation and the Golden Gate Bridge. The state’s economy is one of the largest in the world, driven by sectors such as technology, agriculture, entertainment, and tourism. With its rich cultural diversity and pioneering spirit, California continues to be a land of opportunity and innovation.

Christian Brevoort Zabriskie

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Christian Brevoort Zabriskie was a vice president and general manager Pacific Coast Borax Company located in Death Valley National Park. Zabriske served the Pacific Coast Borax Company for some thirty six years, and due to this activity is honored by the naming an Zabriske Point.

Christian Brevoort Zabriskie
Christian Brevoort Zabriskie

Christian Brevoort Zabriskie (1864–1936) was born at Fort Bridger in the Wyoming Territory. After schooling, he worked for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad located in Carson City, Nevada. For a time, he relocated to Candelaria, Nevada at work for the Esmeralda County Bank. He briefly venture into the mortuary business with a partnership formed with a local cabinet maker. His lack of knowledge in the art of embalming was not considered a liability as burial speed was a huge priority.

In 1885, at the age of twenty one, Zabriske was hired by Francis Marion “Borax” Smith to supervise the Chinese laborer’s. These men worked for the Pacific Coast Borax Company is the Columbus Marsh located near Candelaria. During his thirty six year tenure with the Pacific Coast Borax Company, the company closed up Candelaria operations and relocated to Death Valley to increase production. The company also expanded into the Calico Mountains and Trona, California

Zabriskie Point named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie - Photo by James L Rathbun
Zabriskie Point named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie – Photo by James L Rathbun

Zabriske retired from the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1933 as Vice President and General Manager. All of his work in Death Valley took place before the area was designated National Monument. He passed away just three years later, on February 8thm 1936 at the age of 71. He is buried in Carson City, Nevada.

Zabriske Point is named to honor the man for his many years of service to the Pacific Coast Borax Company.

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Pete Aguereberry – A Panamint Valley Miner

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Jean Pierre “Pete” Aguereberry (1874–1945), universally known as Pete Aguereberry, was a Basque-born prospector and miner whose four-decade solitary vigil at the Eureka Mine in the Panamint Mountains of California’s Death Valley region exemplified the quiet persistence of the post-boom desert prospector. Though the 1905 Harrisburg gold strike never yielded the riches of earlier rushes, Aguereberry’s unyielding labor, self-built cabin, and hand-constructed scenic overlook—now officially Aguereberry Point—made him a legendary figure in Death Valley mining lore and left a lasting geographic legacy within what is today Death Valley National Park.

Pete Aguereberry
Pete Aguereberry

Early Life and Immigration

Born on October 18, 1874, into a hardworking Basque family in the village of Mauleon in the French Pyrenees, young Jean Pierre grew up hearing tales of the California Gold Rush. As a boy he devoured stories of western American gold discoveries and begged his father to let him emigrate. At age sixteen, in 1890, his father finally consented, and Pete sailed alone for the United States.

Language and culture barriers made the early years difficult. He took whatever work he could find: professional handball player, sheepherder, cattle driver, milk-truck driver, ice-delivery man, ranch hand, and stage driver. By about 1902 he had reached the booming mining town of Goldfield, Nevada, where the desert’s call fully took hold.

Arrival in Death Valley and the 1905 Strike

In June 1905 Pete ventured into Death Valley during the brutal summer heat and nearly died of dehydration and exposure. He was rescued and nursed back to health by Oscar Denton, caretaker at Greenland Ranch (later Furnace Creek Ranch). Within a month he had recovered enough to join forces with the already-legendary desert prospector Frank “Shorty” Harris. The pair set out across the Panamint Range toward Ballarat for the Fourth of July celebration.

On July 1, 1905, while crossing what is now known as Harrisburg Flats, Pete spotted a promising ledge of quartz. The two men worked the outcrop and quickly found free gold. Pete staked claims on the north side of the hill; Shorty took the south. Word spread rapidly. By August, more than twenty parties were prospecting the area, ore samples assayed as high as $500 per ton, and a makeshift camp of roughly three hundred people sprang up. Originally the partners jokingly called the settlement “Harrisberry,” but Shorty later popularized “Harrisburg,” and the name stuck.

Pete’s northern claims became the Eureka Mine. The strike briefly revived interest in the Panamint region, which had already seen earlier silver booms at Panamint City in the 1870s.

The Eureka Mine and Litigation

The Eureka Mine soon became entangled in a complex legal dispute that lasted from 1907 until 1909. When the dust settled, Pete emerged as sole owner. He immediately began serious development work, driving tunnels and stopes almost entirely by himself. Except for occasional help from a nephew in his later years, Aguereberry worked the property single-handedly for the next three decades.

Though high-grade ore was present, the remote location, limited water, and modest scale of operations prevented him from ever becoming wealthy. He often grubstaked other prospectors or took odd jobs to sustain himself, yet he never abandoned the claim. The Eureka remained his life’s work and home.

Life at Aguereberry Camp

In 1907 Pete built a modest two-room cabin at the mine site—now preserved as Aguereberry Camp along the road to Aguereberry Point. The simple wood-frame structure, later equipped with a gas stove and refrigerator, served as his residence until his death. Two additional cabins were added later (a 1941 guest house and another of uncertain purpose around 1946), but Pete lived frugally amid the stark Panamint landscape.

In his later years he delighted in guiding visitors up the road he had laboriously constructed to a spectacular overlook 6,433 feet above the valley floor. He proudly called it “The Great View.” From there visitors could see Mount Charleston 80 miles east in Nevada, Furnace Creek’s green oasis, and the white salt flats of Badwater Basin. That viewpoint is now officially named Aguereberry Point in his honor.

Final Years, Death, and Burial

By the early 1930s Pete’s health was failing, yet he continued to live at the mine. He died on November 23, 1945, at age 71, at Tecopa Hot Springs. Though he had expressed a wish to be buried at his beloved “Great View,” federal officials—citing the area’s status as part of Death Valley National Monument (established 1933)—denied the request. Father Frank Crowley officiated his burial at Mount Whitney Cemetery in Lone Pine, California. A plaque there honors him as “a modest, hardworking, and honorable man.”

Legacy

Pete Aguereberry never struck it rich, but his remarkable persistence in one of the harshest environments on Earth made him a symbol of the twentieth-century desert prospector. The Eureka Mine tunnels (now safely gated for bat habitat) and the surviving cabins at Aguereberry Camp remain accessible along the dirt road off Highway 190. The panoramic vista he built and loved continues to draw thousands of visitors each year. In the tradition of fellow Panamint Valley figures such as Shorty Harris and “Seldom Seen Slim,” Pete Aguereberry proved that a man could carve out a meaningful life amid isolation, heat, and hardship—leaving behind not only a mine but a viewpoint that still bears his name and offers future generations the same “Great View” he cherished.

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Wild Burrow ( Equus africanus asinus )

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The Wild Burro (Equus asinus), also known as the feral donkey or ass, is a resilient equid that has become a fixture in the harsh landscapes of the desert Southwest United States. Introduced by Spanish explorers in the 1500s and later released or escaped during the mining booms of the 19th century, these animals have adapted to arid environments where few large herbivores can survive. Often viewed as both an ecological challenge and a cultural icon, wild burros are managed by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service due to their impacts on native vegetation and wildlife. With their sure-footed gait and ability to endure extreme conditions, they exemplify adaptation in one of North America’s most unforgiving regions.

Wild Burrow photographed in Beatty, Nevada - Photo by James L Rathbun
Wild Burrow photographed in Beatty, Nevada – Photo by James L Rathbun

Classification

The wild burro belongs to the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), family Equidae, genus Equus, and species asinus. Native to North Africa, where it is known as the African wild ass, the species was domesticated thousands of years ago and introduced to the Americas. In the southwestern U.S., all populations are feral, descended from domestic stock released or escaped over centuries, and are classified as herbivores and non-native mammals. They share the Equidae family with horses and zebras, exhibiting similar social and grazing behaviors but with distinct adaptations for arid survival.

Physical Description

Wild burros are sturdy, medium-sized equids, standing approximately 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) tall at the shoulder and weighing around 350 pounds (159 kg), though sizes can vary. They have a robust build with long, erect ears (up to 10 inches or 25 cm) that aid in heat dissipation and hearing, a short, upright mane, and a tail ending in a tassel. Coat colors range from gray and brown to black, often with a lighter underbelly and muzzle, and a distinctive dark dorsal stripe or shoulder cross in some individuals. Their hooves are narrow and tough, suited for rocky terrain, and they possess a digestive system efficient at extracting nutrients from low-quality forage. Key adaptations include the ability to tolerate up to 30% body weight loss in water and replenish it quickly (in as little as 5 minutes), making them exceptionally suited to desert life.

"Wanderers of the Wastelands" vintage postcard of an unknown prospector and his burros. | Courtesy of Orange County Archives.
“Wanderers of the Wastelands” vintage postcard of an unknown prospector and his burros. | Courtesy of Orange County Archives.

Behavior

Wild burros are primarily diurnal, active during the day for foraging, but shift to nocturnal patterns in hot summers to avoid midday heat, resting in shade during peak temperatures. They form small, loose social groups of 2–10 individuals, often consisting of females and young with a dominant male, though home ranges overlap without strict territorial defense. Unlike wild horses, stable female bands are less common, and males may compete for access to females. They are sure-footed, navigating steep and rocky terrain with ease, and exhibit seasonal movements: concentrating near water and riparian areas in summer for shade and hydration, then dispersing to open shrublands in cooler months. Burros communicate through braying—a loud, distinctive “hee-haw”—and body language, and they can be curious toward humans but are generally wary. Their presence can impact ecosystems by altering vegetation and competing with native species like bighorn sheep for resources.

Food Sources

As herbivores, wild burros employ a mixed feeding strategy, acting as both grazers and browsers depending on availability. Their diet primarily consists of grasses and forbs when abundant, but they readily switch to browse such as shrubs, Mormon tea (Ephedra spp.), palo verde (Parkinsonia spp.), plantain, and other desert vegetation. This adaptability allows them to thrive on low-protein, fibrous plants, with their efficient digestive systems breaking down tough material. They require access to water but derive some moisture from succulent plants. In the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, they consume a wide variety of species, contributing to their success in barren terrains but also leading to overgrazing concerns.

Breeding

Breeding in wild burros occurs year-round, with a peak in mating from May to July, aligning with optimal forage conditions. Gestation lasts about 12 months, resulting in births primarily from May to July the following year. Females (jennies) typically produce one precocial foal (colt or filly) per pregnancy, often every other year, though annual births are possible in favorable conditions. Foals are born weighing around 50–70 pounds (23–32 kg) and can stand and nurse shortly after birth. Sexual maturity is reached as yearlings, but full breeding often begins at 2–3 years. Recruitment rates hover at 20–25%, with low natural predation contributing to population growth. During parturition, females seek cover in brush or riparian areas. Lifespan in the wild can reach 25 years, aided by few diseases or predators.

Habitat and Range

Wild burros inhabit arid and semi-arid deserts, including sagebrush, creosote bush scrub, desert riparian zones, washes, Joshua tree woodlands, and pinyon-juniper areas, from below sea level to elevations up to 8,000 feet (2,450 meters). Key requirements include access to water within 10 miles (16 km), shade for thermoregulation, and diverse vegetation for foraging. They prefer sloping, rolling terrain over steep slopes and localize around water sources in summer, with home ranges varying from 2–22 square miles (5–70 km²) based on season and resources. Their range spans the desert Southwest, including California (e.g., Mojave Desert, Death Valley), Arizona, Nevada (e.g., near Austin), New Mexico, Utah, and parts of Texas, with populations estimated at around 20,000. Managed herds exist on public lands, with ongoing conservation efforts to balance their presence with ecosystem health.

Classification

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Perissodactyla
Family:Equidae
Genus:Equus
Species:E. africanus
Subspecies:E. a. asinus

References

Artist Drive

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Artist Drive is perhaps one of the most popular and scenic drives through a colorful palette of geology, located in Death Valley National Park, California. Artist drive is a one way road about nine miles long which takes just about two hour to complete provided you take the time to hike a few of the short trails. The road is a popular destination for hikers and bikers as well as motor vehicles. From the drivers perspective, the road can be quite fun to drive and it twists and turns up and down the colorful hillside.

Artist's Palette, Death Valley National Park - Photo by James L Rathbun
Artist’s Palette, Death Valley National Park – Photo by James L Rathbun

The hills which contain burst of color were formed by volcanic deposits of different compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite, which creates a rainbow effect of color. There is no bad time to visit, however, the photographer will appreciate the warm afternoon sunlight enhancing the natural colors in the soil. The best features are on a westward facing slope which really benefits from the late hours in the day.

While the colors of the location are amazing, do not forget to turn around the allow the scenic vistas of Death Valley to take your breath away. On a visit during a three day weekend in February 2022, I was surprised by the volume of people on the route. All of the parking lanes were full and it became quite difficult photographically due to the visitors. I will say, that during this time the COVID pandemic was relaxing and it was really nice seeing people enjoying themselves outside.

Prior to becoming a National Park, Assist’s Drive and some of the nearby valley’s were a filming location for the movie Star Wars.

Artist Drive Map

The multicolored rock formations along Artist’s Drive (particularly at the famous Artist’s Palette viewpoint) in Death Valley National Park create one of the most striking natural displays in the American Southwest. These vibrant hues result from ancient volcanic activity over 5 million years ago, when eruptions deposited ash, metals, and minerals that were later altered by hydrothermal processes, chemical weathering, and oxidation.

Here are the main rock colors you’ll see splashed across the hillsides, along with the primary minerals responsible for each:

Reds, Pinks, and Oranges

These warm, fiery tones dominate many areas and often appear as bold streaks or bands. They come from iron oxides (especially hematite), which form through the oxidation of iron-rich compounds in the volcanic rocks

Yellows and Golds

Bright mustard, golden, and sunny yellow patches blend beautifully with the reds. These are also produced by various iron oxides in different stages of oxidation and weathering.

Purples and Lavenders

The cooler, softer purple and lavender shades create a dreamy contrast. These colors are caused by manganese minerals that oxidize to produce these distinctive hues.

Greens

Vivid green sections stand out dramatically against the warmer tones. The green primarily comes from the decomposition of tuff-derived mica or weathered volcanic tuff, sometimes involving chlorite.

Overall Landscape Views

The full palette comes alive especially in late afternoon or sunset light, when the low sun angle intensifies the colors and creates dramatic shadows.

The result is a surreal, painterly landscape that looks almost too vivid to be natural — truly living up to its name as Artist’s Palette! The colors can shift subtly depending on the time of day, weather, and lighting, making every visit feel unique.

References

Zabriskie Point

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Zabriskie Point is perhaps one of the best known and popular overlooks in the entire Death Valley National Park, California. The landmark is named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie who was the Vice President of the Pacific Coast Borax Company.

Zabriskie Point bathed in warm afternoon light in Death Valley National Park - Photo by James L Rathbun
Zabriskie Point bathed in warm afternoon light in Death Valley National Park – Photo by James L Rathbun

The elevated overlook of a huge area of yellow-brown-black ancient mud lands composed of sediments from the ancient Furnace Creek Lake. A short hike from the parking lot allows is a visitor to see the expanse of the badlands. A longer hike will take the explorer down through Golden Canyon to the floor of Death National National Park. The site is best visited during the “golden hours” of warm light in the evening and mornings. The best viewing occurs at sunrise.

Zabriskie Point - Photo by James L Rathbun
Zabriskie Point – Photo by James L Rathbun

The site was made famous in popular culture by a movie from 1970 of the same name. For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, the cover of the U2 Album, The Joshua Tree features a photograph by Anton Corbijn at Zabriskie Point.

The cover of The Joshua Tree by U2 was taken in Death Valley - photograph by Anton Corbijn
The cover of The Joshua Tree by U2 was taken in Death Valley – photograph by Anton Corbijn

The only draw back with visiting this location is that it is almost always crowded during the prime months.

Zabriskie Point Map

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