312:, lived in the region as early as ten to twenty thousand years ago, camping along the now dry river. They harvested resources and hunted the large animals which lived there at the time. By 6000 BCE, however, these early inhabitants were forced by increasingly arid conditions to partially abandon the region. As conditions began to switch back to a relatively moderate climate at around 4000 BCE, Native Americans started to return to the area. They practiced a new culture, which emphasized using the resources available to them in the desert. The way of life that these people practiced survived until the 19th century, when the native tribe called the
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The relatively still water ahead forced the moving water to slow down and rotate to form an eddy. The high-velocity currents were enough to catch the granitic rocks from Red Hill and spiral them downwards in multiple vortices, drilling them into the basalt. Sediments would get trapped and continue to circularly erode the holes.
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brought flows from the northeast and later Red Hill, which can be viewed from Fossil Falls, released the younger lava. The flows occurred between 400,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago. During this period, the glacial flows would run through Fossil Falls and smooth the vesicular basalt. The erosion
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In addition to the small gas vesicles in the basalt, there are large, perfectly circular penetrations in the basalt. These are erosional features called potholes. It is speculated that Red Hill cast out granitic detritus which fell into Fossil Falls. Water accelerates as it moves past the rocks.
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Fossil Falls originally started downstream from where it sits today; it moved upstream as waterfalls typically do. Water falling over the edge of the waterfall undercut the falls and caused them to move upstream and grow taller. This process is called plunge-pool erosion.
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found at Fossil Falls was formed by the youngest glacial runoff, called the Tioga, from the Sierra Nevada
Mountain Range about 20,000 to 10,000 years ago.
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Flakes of obsidian can be found in the area, for the Native
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University and college buildings listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
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Archaeological sites on the
National Register of Historic Places in California
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called "Red Hill") on Cinder Road to Red Hill, with signs to Fossil Falls.
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Fossil Falls
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to form their tools. The Fossil Falls archeological
District is on the
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List of jails and prisons on the
National Register of Historic Places
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National
Register of Historic Places in Inyo County, California
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476:"Fossil Falls, BLM California Ridgecrest Field Office"
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All the lava flows at Fossil Falls are basaltic. The
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from the glaciers pooled into large lakes, including
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History of the
National Register of Historic Places
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412:Geology underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley
601:List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state
225:in the mountain range, along with meltwater from
16:Archaeological site in California, United States
993:National Register of Historic Places portal
209:is a unique geological feature, located in the
347:Category: Protected areas of the Mojave Desert
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435:Glazner, Allen F.; Sharp, Robert P. (1993).
410:Glazner, Allen F.; Sharp, Robert P. (1997).
478:. Bureau of Land Management. Archived from
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443:. Missoula, Mont: Mountain Press Pub. Co.
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439:Geology underfoot in Southern California
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1034:Landforms of Inyo County, California
372:National Register of Historic Places
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32:Fossil Falls Archeological District
956:National Historic Preservation Act
293:Native Americans near Fossil Falls
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505:Digital-desert.com: Fossil Falls
269:. The river traveled through to
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909:Federated States of Micronesia
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118:Show map of the United States
21:United States historic place
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183:NRHP reference
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1024:Waterfalls of California
883:Northern Mariana Islands
159:35.969946°N 117.908964°W
1029:Volcanism of California
178:750 acres (300 ha)
132:Little Lake, California
878:Minor Outlying Islands
861:Lists by insular areas
575:Keeper of the Register
337:Coso Rock Art District
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164:35.969946; -117.908964
93:Show map of California
49:U.S. Historic district
580:National Park Service
560:Contributing property
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935:District of Columbia
314:Little Lake Shoshone
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342:Coso Volcanic Field
278:Coso Volcanic Field
271:Indian Wells Valley
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792:Pennsylvania
772:North Dakota
484:. Retrieved
480:the original
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255:last ice age
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207:Fossil Falls
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128:Nearest city
66:Fossil Falls
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928:Other areas
888:Puerto Rico
722:Mississippi
637:Connecticut
310:Coso People
267:Owens River
253:During the
243:cinder cone
235:Little Lake
162: /
150:117°54′32″W
138:Coordinates
1018:Categories
837:Washington
757:New Mexico
752:New Jersey
627:California
353:References
263:Owens Lake
241:(at a red
215:California
211:Coso Range
147:35°58′12″N
847:Wisconsin
812:Tennessee
717:Minnesota
692:Louisiana
486:March 16,
304:Bands of
259:Meltwater
1003:Category
832:Virginia
782:Oklahoma
762:New York
737:Nebraska
727:Missouri
712:Michigan
702:Maryland
687:Kentucky
667:Illinois
642:Delaware
632:Colorado
622:Arkansas
331:See also
265:and the
227:glaciers
190:80004492
949:Related
852:Wyoming
827:Vermont
732:Montana
672:Indiana
652:Georgia
647:Florida
617:Arizona
607:Alabama
249:Geology
217:in the
787:Oregon
742:Nevada
682:Kansas
657:Hawaii
612:Alaska
548:Topics
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239:US 395
919:Palau
817:Texas
697:Maine
662:Idaho
873:Guam
822:Utah
777:Ohio
677:Iowa
488:2012
445:ISBN
416:ISBN
205:The
175:Area
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185:No.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
