I had long known of Zabriskie Point from Michelangelo Antonioni's tedious 1970 art film of the same name. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of that film was Harrison Ford's tiny, uncredited part. The film was not inspiring, but Zabriskie Point's badlands landscape, certainly is. As you enter the park from Pahrump, NV, Zabriskie Point is on the left side of the highway. The parking lot is crowded. Everyone wants to take a peek. This stop is just one of many dazzling sights awaiting you within the 3.4 million acre park.
Death Valley, our largest National Park in the lower 48, got its name from comments by gold-seeking 49ers who became stranded and lost in this great basin in 1849. After their rescue on the way out of the valley they said, "Goodbye, valley of death". One member of their party had died. The park is a land of extremes. The hottest and driest place in North America is Badwater Basin, which is also the lowest spot at 282 feet below sea level. However, less than 20 miles away Telescope Peak towers at 11,042 feet above sea level. Behind Zabriskie Point in some of our photos, you can see both Telescope Peak and the salt flats below.
Before tourism became widespread, the main economic activity was mining borax in the 1880s and beyond. Borax was primarily used for laundry and household cleaning. Zabriskie Point is named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie (1864-1936) who was vice president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company. The audacity required to live and work in this desolate environment is astonishing.
However, as a tourist... there is a hiking trail through Zabriskie Point which leads to Natural Bridge Canyon. If it is not too hot and you have plenty of water, that route will lead you through some other-worldly beauty.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
