Exploring the Shores of an Ancient Nevada Dry Lake

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
On our way home from a recent trip to Vegas, Cindy and I decided to do what we often end up doing and that's to head off pavement and take a long cut across the Northern Nevada desert. On this particular excursion, we made our way out to the edge of a military base and so that we could explore the shoreline of an ancient dry lake. Being that this was a completely unscheduled trip, we didn't take a whole lot of pics but thought some of you would still enjoying seeing some of the things that we got to see.

One of the things we love most about Northern Nevada is that it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to find yourself out in the middle of nowhere.
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And there it is - the dry lake we've been looking for.
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Diving into the dusty playa.
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While there are a myriad of small black stones strewn across the surface of the playa, a closer examination showed that many of them were stones at all but rather, .50 cal bullets.
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Back on shore, we worked our way over to an interesting looking bluff covered in tuffas.
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About 10,000 years ago, this dry lake would have been filled with water and traces of ancient human habitation can be found here.
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While more modern by far, we also found evidence of historic camps in this area as well.
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This broken bottle has a "S.G.Co." marked on the bottom of it and would mean that it was made by the Southern Glass Works Company. Written the way it is with the small letter "o", I found this bottle was most likely manufactured around 1877-1879.
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This bottle was made by the same company but as you can see, the mark shows a "S.G.CO." which would indicate it was manufactured around 1924-1925.
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And as you can see on this thick bottle, the mark shows a capital letter "O" with the numbers "88" next to it which would mean that it was most likely made by the Graham Glass Co. somewhere between 1912-1929.
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Exploring some of the cool rock formations.
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Looking back out across the lake bed.
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On the move again, we decided to drive along the shoreline to see what else we could find.
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Soon, we came across the remnants of an old Mercury.
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Judging by how the metal was ripped to shreds, it would appear that it was the victim of some heavy ordinance.
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And here's the line in the sand that we won't be crossing.
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Some more cars from the 1940's that were used for target practice just on the other side of the fence.
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Following the fence line across the playa.
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As we continued our way to the north and away from the dry lake, we continued to see evidence of military use. Looking across the desert, we noticed this odd, egg shaped object sticking out of an otherwise featureless landscape and from what we could tell, it was the remnant of an old dummy bomb. Others like it could be found later on as well.
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After getting back on pavement, we made a course correction for home and found ourselves over at Walker Lake just as the sun was starting to set. In addition to Pyramid Lake, this is one of the last remaining remnants the massive Pleistocene era, Lake Lahontan - one of the largest lakes to have existed in North America. A fitting way to end our day.
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Unlike the dry lake we visited earlier in the day, Walker Lake has actually started to rise over the last couple of years thanks to a couple of good winters and now, for the first time in almost 10 years, this pier is just now starting to touch water again. With any luck, it'll continue to grow.
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Unfortunately, we may have stayed by the lake a bit too long as the bugs came swarming in as we drove through into them at highway speeds.
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Needless to say, it was a massacre...
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And, that was our little excursion to explore the shores of an ancient Northern Nevada dry lake as well as one that's just starting to come back to life. We hope you enjoyed our pics. :cool:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member

Rellik

Member
We have been to walker lake a few times. Its a huge body of water that doesn't seem to get much use. Strange as Jet Skiing is my other sport I see Walker lake as a huge play ground but I must be missing something as no one is really using the lake for anything?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
We have been to walker lake a few times. Its a huge body of water that doesn't seem to get much use. Strange as Jet Skiing is my other sport I see Walker lake as a huge play ground but I must be missing something as no one is really using the lake for anything?

Walker Lake used to be a HUGE water sport and fishing destination. Unfortunately, water hadn't been flowing into it for years and the water level has dropped considerably. Today, the boat ramps are now 30 maybe 40 feet out of the water and all the fish are gone. The last couple of winters have been good and water has just now started flowing in the lake again but there's a long way to go. Last year, efforts were made to extend the boat ramps a bit and for the first time in a very long time, I had seen boats in the water. There are efforts being made to save the lake by buying water rights from Mason Valley but a lot of that is tied up in the courts. Hopefully, something can be done before it's too late.
 

Rellik

Member
Walker Lake used to be a HUGE water sport and fishing destination. Unfortunately, water hadn't been flowing into it for years and the water level has dropped considerably. Today, the boat ramps are now 30 maybe 40 feet out of the water and all the fish are gone. The last couple of winters have been good and water has just now started flowing in the lake again but there's a long way to go. Last year, efforts were made to extend the boat ramps a bit and for the first time in a very long time, I had seen boats in the water. There are efforts being made to save the lake by buying water rights from Mason Valley but a lot of that is tied up in the courts. Hopefully, something can be done before it's too late.

Makes a lot more sense now. Its like Mono lake and how southern Ca was diverting all the water away from the lake causing that lake to shrink. I believe the courts have rectified that situation and Mono lake is filling again. You guys have so many beautiful lakes up in your area. Topaz lake is another lake that we love jet skiing on. It can get a bit rough when the wind is blowing but we love it up there.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Makes a lot more sense now. Its like Mono lake and how southern Ca was diverting all the water away from the lake causing that lake to shrink. I believe the courts have rectified that situation and Mono lake is filling again. You guys have so many beautiful lakes up in your area. Topaz lake is another lake that we love jet skiing on. It can get a bit rough when the wind is blowing but we love it up there.

Yup, Mono Lake is another ancient lake that is still fighting for it's survival but is a lot better now than it was 20 years ago. That being said, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's filling up again - just not disappearing. As far as lakes go, Topaz is really nice and if you can believe it, the water that flows into it is the Walker River and the water that flows out of it is ultimately what is supposed to go into Walker Lake.

Very cool trip! Thanks for sharing! You guys takes some beautiful pictures.

Thank you, we're so glad you liked our pics :)

cool find with the bullets and the old bottles. Great pics as always. Bug Armageddon on the road home.

Thanks! There's a ton of stuff to be found out in the middle of nowhere Nevada :)
 

Rellik

Member
Yup, Mono Lake is another ancient lake that is still fighting for it's survival but is a lot better now than it was 20 years ago. That being said, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's filling up again - just not disappearing. As far as lakes go, Topaz is really nice and if you can believe it, the water that flows into it is the Walker River and the water that flows out of it is ultimately what is supposed to go into Walker Lake.



Thank you, we're so glad you liked our pics :)



Thanks! There's a ton of stuff to be found out in the middle of nowhere Nevada :)

Oh that reminds me that the drive along the walker river is Incredible. Sorry for hi jacking ill go ahead and move off of memory lane now. Great video and thank you for everything you do.
 

Cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Looks like an awesome trip! Those old bottles are super cool!

I see you finally installed the soft top. How is the noise level with the new top? Any quieter than the jk or about the same
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Looks like an awesome trip! Those old bottles are super cool!

I see you finally installed the soft top. How is the noise level with the new top? Any quieter than the jk or about the same

Even on the JK, I found the Twill Top to be much quieter. On the JL, I personally think that it's quieter than the hard top or at least, in terms of wind. You can definitely hear outside noises a bit more - like lug thumping from tires or trucks driving beside you.
 

RMC2

Member
I have said it before and I will say it again. I love the desert 🌵 Southwest. I miss it. And I’m jealous.
 

GhostJL

New member
Awesome

This is what I love living so close to Nevada, there's so much preserved ancient history. A simple drive drive off the highway and you'll see arrowhead chippings (and the occasional arrowhead), petroglyphs, ancient landscapes, hot springs, and no people. Hope it never changes...
 

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