(Happy) Anniversary Narrows

A slot canyon in the desert ?

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 



How can a slot canyon in southern Nevada not be happy?

The name of the slot canyon is Anniversary Narrows, and the area in which it lies is as beautiful as any other on earth. Anniversary Narrows is found at the bottom of southern Nevada's historic Lovell Wash, which drains out of the colourful Muddy Mountains to the north. It all lies in 48,000-acre Muddy Mountains Wilderness, designated by Congress in 2002. Several entrances and remains of an old borax mine along the way add a historic dimension to this desert wash, where tilted sedimentry rock layers paint beautiful lines east of Henderson, Nevada.

How can a slot canyon in southern Nevada not be happy?

The name of the slot canyon is Anniversary Narrows, and the area in which it lies is as beautiful as any other on earth. Anniversary Narrows is found at the bottom of southern Nevada's historic Lovell Wash, which drains out of the colourful Muddy Mountains to the north. It all lies in 48,000-acre Muddy Mountains Wilderness, designated by Congress in 2002. Several entrances and remains of an old borax mine along the way add a historic dimension to this desert wash, where tilted sedimentry rock layers paint beautiful lines east of Henderson, Nevada.

Anniversary Mine - Portal into Time:

Francis M. Smith (aka the "Borax King")(1846-1931) was an American business
magnate and civic builder in Oakland, California. Smith Mountain in Death
Valley is named after him. In 1913, Smith, like his former partner, W.T.
Coleman, became "financially strapped" and had to turn over his assets to
creditors who refused to extend new loans. At the time, Smith's second wife
held an interest in a silver mine in Tonopah, Nevada. During his quest to
find a profitable way to convert extensive lake brines into borax, Smith
(the Borax King) OUTBID the new owners of his company for the rights for a
RICH borax discovery in Lovell Wash in the Muddy Mountains overlooking
Lake Mead. He called his operations there the ANNIVERSARY MINE, as the
claims were acquired on the anniversary of his marriage to his second wife.
His first wife (Mary) had died at age 55 in 1905. Smith went on to develop
the "Searles Lake deposits" in Califonia with capital he obtained from
profits of the Anniversary Mine in Nevada.

Muddy Mountains Wilderness Area

The "mind-bending" geology of the Muddy Mountains region
gives a telling glimpse into geologic time. About 300
million years ago, this area was sediment on the bottom
of a shallow sea. Today, the sea floor composes the
limestone peaks that rise nearly 6,000 ft. into the sky.
Scattered among these peaks are fossilized sand dunes
that have eroded into galleries and canyons, intricately
carved and painted in shades of red, orange and yellow.

With Valley of Fire State Park to the north and Lake
Mead to the east and south, the Muddy Mountains region
is in good company. This landscape on the north shore
of Lake Mead contains four wild areas that offer
stunning geology, a fragile desert ecosystem and a
rewarding opportunity to navigate a shadowy slot canyon, and witness a Desert Bighorn sheep. Also, from
Anniversary Narrows Peak and points beyond, you can
sit on a rock and peer down into the Bowl of Fire.

Images

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