Small Group One Day Tour Death Valley National Park and Rhyolite Ghost Town

30 minutes stop at Town Pahrump, pack daily fresh lunch box for guest

Rhyolite Ghost Town was inhabited for just 12 years, from 1904 to 1916. However, it flourished enormously during this short period. Wander the eerie, long-deserted streets of this prominent gold rush-era boomtown and marvel at the infrastructure that sprang up in such a short space of time.

Exploring the Death valley unusual geographical features, as sand dunes, salt flats, colorful rocks, and tall mountains. Death Valley National Park is the continental United States’ largest park. It’s also the hottest, driest and lowest. Despite harsh conditions, the park’s more than 3 million acres (1.3 million hectares) aren’t simply desert plains. find mountains, canyons, sand dunes, extinct volcanic craters and even palm trees and wildflowers.

Many first time visitors to Death Valley are surprised it is not covered with a sea of sand. Less than one percent of the desert is covered with dunes, yet the shadowed ripples and stark, graceful curves define "desert" in our imaginations. For dunes to exist there must be a source of sand, prevailing winds to move the sand, and a place for the sand to collect. The eroded canyons and washes provide plenty of sand, the wind seems to always blow (especially in the springtime), but there are only a few areas in the park where the sand is "trapped" by geographic features such as mountains.

Tucked behind an unassuming yellow landscape, the rainbow of Artists Palette is the highlight along the Artists Drive Scenic Loop. Here, visitors marvel at an array of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and green), splashed across the hills. These colors are from volcanic deposits rich in compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite, which creates a rainbow effect.

The spectacular views from Zabriskie Point are some of the most photographed in Death Valley National Park. Named in honor of Christian Zabriskie.a prominent figure in the heyday of the Pacific Coast Borax Company, Zabriskie Point affords an elevated vista from which to marvel at the badlands below. These yellow and brown striped hills have been shaped by the powerful force of water, and even during dry times, the path carved by this water is unmistakable. Gazing beyond the badlands, views of the salt flats covering the floor of Death Valley are visible in the distance, with the hulk of the Panamint Mountains towering above.

Harmony Borax Works was the central feature in the opening of Death Valley and the subsequent popularity of the Furnace Creek area. The plant and associated townsite played an important role in Death Valley history. Borax was found near Furnace Creek Ranch (then called Greenland) in 1881, William T. Coleman built the Harmony plant and began to process ore in late 1883 or early 1884. When in full operation, the Harmony Borax Works employed 40 men who produced three tons of borax daily. During the summer months, when the weather was so hot that processing water would not cool enough to permit the suspended borax to crystallize, Coleman moved his work force to the Amargosa Borax Plant near present day Tecopa, California.

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The salt flats here cover nearly 200 square miles (518 square km), and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax. f

Route back to Las Vegas enjoying the beautiful evening Mojave Desert drive, drop off to your hotel