Titus Canyon

This image shows some of the complex geologic structures found in Titus Canyon (about midway through the lower canyon). Folds, faults, and steeply dipping strata give the canyon its unique character. Most of the lower canyon consists of the Bonanza King Formation, a Cambrian-age sedimentary formation that consists of interbedded dolomite and limestone beds with thin shale partings. With the exception of rare beds of hashed-up trilobite pieces and algal remains, fossils are extremely scarce in Cambrian age rocks in Death Valley (Hunt and Mabey, 1966; Reynolds, 1976).