Landscape Evolution at an Active Plate Margin - Biological Science ...

We are at elevation 6000 ft. and vegetation has
changed (see Gardner, this volume). Ahead at Whitney
Portal (8200 ft.) are dense stands of Jeffrey pine
and mixed coniferous plants, along with blue grouse,
deer, black bear, Steller’s jays, and golden-mantled
ground squirrels. Downslope, precipitation decreases
and temperatures increase, supporting piñon–juniper
woodland in turn replaced at lower elevations by
Great Basin plant communities of mountain brush
associations including bitterbrush (Purshia sp.) and
Brigham tea (Ephedra viridi). Black brush (Coleogyne
ramosissima) is found on interfluves of the alluvial
fans. Lower, Great Basin sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
is dominant. Along the road is a thick stand
of rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus sp.), a “pioneer” in
disturbed areas that crowds out natives. California
buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) may be native
or introduced. Scattered needlegrasses (Achnatherum
sp.) and native bunch grasses are making a comeback
after grazing.
Return to vehicles, turn around and RETRACE to
Lone Pine on Whitney Portal Road.
164.2 (5.2) Slow for curves ahead.
167.1 (2.9) Stop at the traffic light and TURN LEFT
(north) on Hwy 395.
167.2 (0.1) Cross Bush Street. The Southern Inyo
Museum is on the left; Stratham Hall senior center is
on the right.
167.4 (0.2) Continue past Russell Spasshouse Park on
the left.
167.9 (0.5) Continue past Narrow Gauge Road on the
right leading to site of Owenyo.
168.1 (0.2) The cemetery on the hill to the left (west)
side of Hwy 395 contains a mass grave site for victims
of the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake. Twenty-seven
Lone Pine residents were killed in the quake, but only
16 were buried in this grave. The peak to the east in
the Inyo Range is New York Butte (el. 10,668 ft); farther
to the north is Keynot Peak (el. 11,101 ft).
169.9 (1.8) First set of northwest trending powerlines.
171.2 (1.3) Cross the Owens Valley fault scarp after
the second set of powerlines. The LADWP aqueduct
lies behind the low fence at the base of the Alabama
Hills. The vast riparian woodland of willows, tules,
and grasses is supported by springs along the fault
and leaks from the aqueduct.
D. R. Jessey and R. E. Reynolds
172.0 (0.8) The Alabama Gates spillway from the
LADWP aqueduct.
173.0 (1.0) Continue past a left turn to Moffat Ranch
Road, the northern exit from the Alabama Hills.
176.6 (3.6) The Manzanar National Historic Monument
Interpretive Center is to the west. Mt. Williamson
(el. 14,389 ft) is on the Sierra crest. Manzanar
is Spanish for apple orchard. During the early 20 th
century. this part of the Owens Valley supported
a thriving agricultural community that produced
some of the finest apples and pears in California.
When LADWP acquired the water rights, the supply
of agricultural water was reduced and the land was
abandoned. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the
Federal government appropriated the land for one of
five major Japanese–American Relocation Centers. At
its peak Manzanar housed nearly 18,000 men, women
and children. WWII ended, the camp was closed,
and Inyo County utilized parts of it for storage and
maintenance of county equipment. It fell into a state
of disrepair until the National Park Service undertook
an extensive renovation and reopened Manzanar as
an interpretive center in 2004. The former school
multipurpose building now houses extensive exhibits
documenting the events that lead to the relocation,
and detailing the everyday lives of the internees. One
guard tower has been reconstructed, original housing
units have been returned and renovated, and gardens
refurbished.
177.2 (0.6) Continue past a right turn (east) on
Manzanar–Reward Road leading to the Union Mining
District.
182.1 (4.9) Enter Independence. Continue past a right
(east) turn to Kearsarge and Mazourka Canyon (see
Day 3).
182.5 (0.4) Market Street. The Inyo County Courthouse
is on the right; the Eastern California Museum
is 0.25 miles to the west. The original courthouse was
destroyed by the 1872 earthquake and a later one by
fire. This structure dates from 1921 (Clark, 1997).
Note the large block of Bishop Tuff in front of the
courthouse.
182.7 (0.2) Deny Park (Inyo County) is on the left
(west).
183.8 (1.1) The gravel plant at 9:00 produces aggregate
for the CalTrans Hwy 395 improvement project.
When widening of the highway from Independence
to Bishop is complete, the plant will move south.
22 2009 Desert Symposium