Major production funding for Wild Nevada is made possible by the Nevada Commission on Tourism, who encourages everyone to explore the Silver State's hidden treasures.

MUSIC >>Chris Orr: Hi, welcome to Wild Nevada.

I'm Chris Orr.

>> Dave Santina: And, I'm Dave Santina and this time we're going to be taking you through some of the natural wonders to be found all around Churchill County.

>>Chris: Well, we're getting a really early start 'cause we have a lot to see today.

We're using Fallon as the base for this adventure.

Fallon is located about 60 miles east of Reno and it is well known for its Heart of Gold cantaloupe.

♪Music >>Dave: Fallon's agricultural roots can be traced to the Reclamation Act of 1902.

Commonly called The Newlands Project, the Act's goal was to turn this portion of the Great Basin Desert into lush agricultural land.

The dusty crossroad hamlet that was Fallon dramatically changed into a budding farming community.

>>Chris: The county courthouse was built in 1903, five years before the city was incorporated.

In 1908, the historic Overland Hotel opened and quickly became a main stopping point for travelers, ranchers and politicians.

And, by 1912, Fallon was incorporated and electrified.

>>Dave: In the 1920's, Fallon farmers had practically a monopoly on the cantaloupe crop for Nevada and Northern California.

The jumbo-sized melons were unmatched for flavor and quality.

Hotels of distinction proudly served Fallon's Heart of Gold melons.

Cattle, turkeys, alfalfa, sugar beets and other crops became stable sources of income for area farmers.

>>Chris: During World War II, Fallon became home to the Naval Air Station.

And, since 1972, the base has specialized in training Navy pilots.

Unlike many rural towns in Nevada, Fallon continues to grow and prosper.

Today, Fallon remains a prime agricultural and farming hub for the region.

It is also an oasis for cultural and recreational activities.

>>Dave: A few miles east of town is the Grimes Point Petroglyph Trail.

Here, visitors can view the remnants of ancient civilizations that inhabited this area more than 8,000 years ago.

And, for outdoor enthusiasts the 600 foot high Sand Mountain beckons them like a siren.

This enormous two-mile long sand dune was created by sand blown in from beaches of a prehistoric inland sea.

>>Chris: But, no trip to Fallon would be complete without a visit to the Churchill County Museum.

Dubbed "The Best Little Museum on the Loneliest Road in America", this museum has true-to-life exhibits, research facilities, collections and educational programs.

It's a must see stop for every Fallon visitor.

The first stop on today's adventure is Soda Lake.

Actually, Soda Lake is two lakes, Big Soda and Little Soda.

For the unobservant driver, these lakes are easy to miss as they are hidden behind gentle levees.

But, once on top, these two lakes are dramatic and breathtaking.

Music Chris: To learn more about these lakes, we need Jim Moore, Director of Parks and Recreation.

Music >>Dave: Jim, this seems, out here in the desert, to be kind of an unlikely spot for a lake.

So, what's the story here?

>>Jim Moore: Years ago, actually within 5,000 years, this entire valley was covered by a lake.

>>Dave: Oh, it was, uh, Lahontan, right?

>>Jim: From the Old Lahontan Sea which actually covered a lot of Nevada, parts of Oregon and, uh, California.

It's huge.

>>Chris: So, we noticed some real interesting tufa structures along the shore.

Is that because of the water content?

>>Jim: It is.

Uh, there's only actually three places where these calcite towers, these tufa towers are being naturally formed right now.

That'd be Mono Lake, here, and Pyramid Lake.

Within the last hundred years, these tufa towers 18 feet tall have formed.

>>Dave (Laughs) >> And, a lot of times they'd thought that went over thousands of years in time.

>>Chris: Oh, wow!

>>Dave: What does, how does that happen?

I mean, how do they form?

Is it coming from underneath?

>>Jim: It's the, um, highly mineralized water in the lake with, uh, the natural freshwater springs coming in to them causes the calcium carbonate to precipitate out and that forms rock.

>>Dave: And, it just builds on itself.

>>Jim: Just keeps building on itself.

And, you can see, uh, there's some pictures of them they've found where you can see the hole where the fresh water's coming out.

>>Dave: Huh.

>>Jim: And, the, the stuff's building around it.

>>Dave: I guess it's full of soda, I'm assuming, 'cause Soda Lake is the name.

What exactly is soda?

I've never understood that.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Jim: Soda water is what they, you know, make soft drinks out of.

And, that, uh, when it precipitates out it forms a white material which is used for a lot of cleaning materials, um, a number of purposes.

>>Chris: Now, can you actually refine it out of the lake and use it?

>>Jim: They did.

Um, back about 1868 a mine was, uh, located actually at the far side of the lake which, uh, mined the soda out for, uh, forty years.

>>Dave: The Newlands Project which irrigated the surrounding area brought disaster to Eugene Griswold's soda factory.

Nearby canals caused the water in the lake to rise some three feet flooding many of the vats in the Big Soda.

By 1984, the lake was more than 200-feet deep.

That's fifty feet above the 1885 measurement by the U.S.

Geological Survey.

>>Dave: Now, the small lake south of here, does that have the same, same, uh, water quality?

>>Jim: Actually, it's got a different chemical makeup.

It doesn't have the, as, uh, highly number of soda springs in it.

High number.

It's, uh, actually fresher water and there's a Lahontan tulle chub... >>Dave: Hmm.

>>Jim: ... which naturally lives in that lake.

And, they've also in the past had Sacramento perch and cutthroat trout survive in there.

>>Dave: With the soda factory long buried under water, Big and Little Sodas became a recreational draw for local residents.

And, with tales of buildings and machinery hidden beneath the surface, divers began to explore Big Soda's city beneath the lake.

This murky, brine shrimp laden water creates an eerie atmosphere.

>>Chris: So, when it becomes a park, what do you hope that you're able to do with it?

>>Jim: Well, our interest originally came, we were putting together a, a trails plan for Churchill County which would include both equestrian, bicycle and, and walking and jogging trails.

And, uh, this has always been used by a lot of equestrian groups.

>>Chris: Mm, hmm.

>>Jim: And, as it evolved, um, it became part of our plan, the State plan and, uh, so mostly trails would be a great thing, as well as some kind of support facilities for fishing over on Little Soda Lake.

Another fascinating thing about the lake is its view of the old Immigrant Trail, uh, which came down just the other side of Upsaw Hogback, which is that one butte out there.

>>Dave: Okay.

>>Jim: It came just west of the lake and, uh, after crossing the 40 Mile Desert, a lot of people had eaten their oxen and dumped off all their equipment and they were dying of thirst.

>>Chris: Hard trip.

>>Jim: There was, uh, natural freshwater springs flowing along the side actually where the tufas form now... >>Dave: Hmm.

>>Jim: ... where they could run down and grab some water before going on to the old, uh, Ragtown site.

>>Dave: It's kind of a lifesaver, this lake.

>>Jim: It was.

It was.

We've got a few diaries and the like in the museum that tell the story of people first coming on this water and being saved by it.

>>Dave: Whew.

>>Chris: We thank Jim for taking time to show us Soda Lake and sharing his vision for its future.

Our next stop on this Fallon-based trip is the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.

The Refuge lies about 5 miles east of Fallon on Highway 116.

Its wetlands attract more than a quarter-million waterfowl, everything from herons to egrets to sandpipers.

>>Dave: A small reception group is waiting for us as we arrive and they have a surprise for us - kayaks and an air boat.

We'll be touring the wetlands at water level.

I choose the air boat while Chris opts for the kayak.

>>Chris: Now, is there one bird that I should really be on the lookout for?P Is there like one treasured sighting to be watching for?

>>Jim Lydle: Uh, right now, I'd say the Bittern.

>>Chris: Bittern?

>>Jim: The Bittern is a bird that will sit in the reeds and, when we approach it, it'll stick its head straight up like this and its coloration looks like it's just reeds, and it just blends right in.

But, it's a, a exceptional bird.

It's in the heron family.

>>Chris: Is it a big bird?

>>Jim: It's a fairly good-sized bird.

Probably stands 2 feet.

>>Chris: Oh, wow.

>>Jim: It's really neat bird.

Music >>Dave: This summer the water level in the wetlands is high as a result of a very wet winter.

Droughts and agricultural activities have taken their toll on this rich and diverse area.

In 1990, landmark federal legislation was enacted that gave the Refuge the ability to purchase water rights.

And, this has allowed the Stillwater to stabilize its wetlands.

>>Bill Henry: Sego pond weed.

The dream for waterfowl managers.

>>Dave: Really?

>>Bill: This is the plant that gets utilized by a host of different waterfowl species, the vegetation, the seeds, the tubers and also the actual invertebrates that live on it.

It's just phenomenal.

This is a, like I say, the "ice cream" plant for a host of waterfowl species.

>>Dave: (Laughs) Why do they like it so much?

>>Bill: Well, 'cause it, it's got such high protein and, and just the seeds and nuts and also the tuber itself are, are just like a potato.

So, they use all aspects of this plant.

The vegetation and also the seeds, and the invertebrates that sit on the plant and utilize it, so... >>Dave: And, so it's, it's lucky to have it here.

It's a good thing.

>>Bill: Yes, and It's only adapted to certain types of wetlands like these, Great Basin and, uh, closed basin wetlands that have a higher alkalinity and a higher salinity.

They don't like real fresh water.

Music >>Jim: This is the dead part of the year.

Um, most of the birds are starting to stage and leave the area because all the breeding has been done.

Uh, and then what we'll get in the fall, of course, is the migration, uh, south of all the birds that, that nest further north.

Like the Klamath Basin, they'll come flying over this valley and say, oh, okay, and they come down here and they, they use these wetlands to, uh, to feed and stage and get further south.

Music >>Dave: Yeah, I was wondering about the water, actually, because we, you know, cruising along on this, this vast water plain and I'm thinking, wow, this, you know, this feels like a lake, you know.

And, I, I can't see the bottom, but how, how deep is this water?

>> Bill: Well, let me show you.

>>Dave: Oh, ho.

(Laughs) Oh.

>>Bill: I could say...18 inches?

>>Dave: (Laughs) And, that's it?

>Bill: And, that's the typical depth of most of our wetlands in the Great Basin and Stillwater Refuge.

>>Dave: I would never have guessed 'cause it feels so, so big and deep like a, a deep lake and, wow, that... and that's, is it that, that's all the way across?

Pretty much?

>>Bill: Typically, yes.

These are very shallow and very, you know, flat wetlands.

No deep holes and no deep water.

It's not a lake.

Like I say, these are wetlands and, so very shallow marshes.

Music >>Chris: This is quite a large area that we're kayaking in.

How big is the Refuge itself?

>>Kevin DesRoberts: The entire Refuge is just under 100,000 acres.

But, of that, um, depending on how wet the year is and water availability, there's anywhere between, it could be 15,000 wetlands up to 40,000 wetlands.

It just depends on the year.

But, on average, um, probably 8,000 to 10,000 acres of wetlands.

Music >>Jim: This whole area has grown up tremendously in the last couple of years.

Um, good water, for one, just regenerates a whole bunch of, uh, areas.

Every year this, this place is different.

And, you can get lost pretty easily out here.

GPS is advisable.

If you, uh, are taking out, you know, a small group and you really don't know, uh, that much about where you're going, a GPS will always get you back to where you, where you began.

Of course, knowing how to use a GPS, of course, is advisable, too.

>>Chris: (Laughs) You're gonna have one, you gotta use it.

>>Jim: That's right.

>>Chris: Now, which way are we gonna go?

We're at a fork in the, fork in the reeds.

(Laughs) >>Dave: We've had a great time exploring this small corner of the Refuge, but it's now time to say goodbye and head out to Dixie Valley to explore Nevada's earthquake faults.

>>Chris: To get to Dixie Valley we head east on Highway 50 for about 20 miles.

It takes only a short half-hour to reach the turnoff.

Then, it's up the graded dirt road for another 6 miles.

Music >>Dave: Waiting for us is Craig dePolo of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.

>>Chris: Where are we at?

>>Craig dePolo: Well... >Dave: You've got, uh, something for us here.

>>Craig: We're here on the east side of Fairview Peak and, uh, the big story is here is this major earthquake that occurred in 1954.

And, these, these fault scarps were actually created by the fourth in a series of, uh, five earthquakes that occurred in six-months period of time.

So, it was a, a real famous period in, uh, Nevada's history.

These earthquakes ruptured about 65 miles worth of territory about 10 - 20 miles wide.

Six different faults went.

And, this map here, which is produced by John Kaskie at the University of Nevada - Reno, um, shows these, these black lines which are the offsets and measurements of the, uh, the, uh, fault ruptures during this earthquake.

So, this is Fairview Peak, a little tough to see here.

Highway 50 coming across through here.

And, we're standing up in, in this point on the fault... >>Dave: Oh, okay.

>>Craig ... where the, the largest offsets were.

So, this is a great place to view this.

>>Chris: Can we take a closer look?

>>Craig: Yeah, let's do that.

>>Dave: Looks like there's a path.

Somebody's been here before.

Shocking.

>>Craig: Well, this is the, uh, big fault scarp here ... that you get to see.

It's up to 23 feet high in this area.

And, the, uh, part that's a little hard to see, but we'll try to detect it, the ground actually shifted 11 feet to the, uh, right, what we call right laterally, as well.

>>Dave: Huh.

>>Craig: This is about 50 years old.

It still has some vertical faces to it.

And, then you have these colluvial slopes or kinda washed slopes surround.

And, if we dug a trench through this we'd actually see that difference.

The, uh, the vertical face just throws things down in a jumble.

>>Dave: Mm, hmm.

>>Craig: Whereas, these smoother wash slopes give us nice even stratigraphy.

Um, so we could work back not only how old a prehistoric fault is from looking at these things, but also how much the, uh, fault moved.

And, the amount of offset at the surface gives us a clue on how large of an earthquake occurred.

>>Dave: Hmm.

>>Chris: So, a modern fault like this almost can be used as a control... >>Craig: Absolutely.

>>Chris: ... for the prehistoric ones.

>>Dave: So... >>Craig: Exactly.

And, this is, you know, Nevada Basin Range.

It's, uh, this is what makes the mountains in Nevada, basically, these, these fault events, um, we're seeing the valley falling down and we're seeing the mountain growing a little bit here.

>>Dave: Which way from here?

>>Craig: Uh, let's hike up to Burt's Ballena there.

>>Dave: Okay.

>>Craig: See if we can see the lateral offset.

>>Dave: I'll let you lead the way.

Music >>Chris: With Craig's background information in mind, we decided to take a hike along the fault line to learn more.

>>Chris: And, would classify this as an active or an inactive fault?

>>Craig: Definitely an active fault.

Any fault that's moved in the last, uh, 130,000 years is active in Nevada.

And, that's based on having earthquakes occur in this part of the world, uh, on faults that hadn't moved in that period of time.

We're coming up to the edge of Burt's Ballena here and what I want you to notice is how high the fault scarp is here.

It's 20 - 25 feet high.

You'd have to scramble quite a bit to get up it.

>>Chris: It's really dramatic.

>>Craig: And, what, uh, what's happened here, these two sides were together and they both fell down and shifted the, uh, the west side here of Fairview Peak shifted to the north about 11 feet.

And, so what's happened, that's taken this hill that fell down a little bit and moved the hill.

It gave us a very large scarp on this side, but it actually moved the two sides back together on the other side and we'll go see if the, uh... >>Dave: Huh.

>>Craig: ... scarp is smaller over there.

>>Dave: It's just hard to wrap your mind around, you know, that this amount of earth moving in, what, just a few seconds?

>>Craig: Yeah.

Six or seven, maybe, max.

>>Dave: Whew.

It's just, I just have a hard time grasping that.

So, are we heading up this way?

>>Craig: Yeah, let's go on up and look at the other side.

>>Dave: Okay.

Music >>Craig: Now, we've come around the top of Burt's Ballena and here's the fault here and you can see it's a lot lower.

>>Dave: Oh, yeah.

>>Chris: But, the contrast is still definitely there, though.

>>Craig: Yeah.

Yeah, you can definitely see the young break in the ground.

But, what's happened is that the hill has fallen down, but this side slid over to meet that side.

So, a big, big scarp on the north side, barely any scarp here or just maybe a couple feet on the south side.

And, that shows us that the ground has moved sideways.

>>Dave: It's a huge shift.

I mean, you can really, it's really obvious when you're right here.

You can just, what a contrast.

Music >>Dave: We head back along the fault and up a hill.

Once on the other side, Craig points out another feature of the fault area.

>>Craig: Well, we're coming up over here where the, the fault takes a bend to the east.

>>Chris: It's just amazing looking.

>>Craig: And, what's happened here is because of that bend and because of this horizontal motion, this wall here has pulled away from that wall and it's created a giant fissure.

And, back, uh, back in 1954, you could actually see the fault plain down in the bottom of this.

>>Chris: Oh, wow.

>>Craig: It was dipping about 60 degrees to the east... >>Dave: Wow.

>>Craig: ... and had little striations on it.

>>Chris: How deep is it, actually?

>>Craig: Um, well, we could take a look.

It's been filling, but I think it was around 80, 60 or 80 feet originally.

>>Chris: Oh, my gosh!

>>Dave: Wow, that's really deep.

>>Chris: So, this is kind of a dirt, soft dirt fault.

Does it make a difference if it was rock on either side?

>>Craig: Yeah, if it was bedrock, um, it would, you'd have a, maybe just a vertical face and there are some places along here.

And, that wouldn't erode.

It wouldn't be the soft, uh, scarp and it would erode over time.

Uh, the, the dirt that's on the hillside here, it's of different ages at different consolidations and, uh, what'll happen is the, the fault rupture will come off the bedrock and it, it'll a lot of times splay or steepen up as it goes through the dirt on the flank of a, of mountain.

>>Chris: The 1954 earthquakes are a fascinating part of Nevada's landscape and, thanks to Craig, we have a better appreciation of their significance.

>>Dave: Our last stop on this trip is the Big Den area just east of Eastgate.

So, we head east again on Highway 50 for about 10 miles.

To get to Big Den Trail Head, we take a dirt road just outside Eastgate for about 5 miles.

>>Chris: We're about 20 miles east of where the earthquake faults are just past Eastgate in the Big Den Campsite and Trail Head.

>>Dave: Yeah, we didn't even know about this area, but a few people have told us that we needed to come hike here because there's a desert waterfall at the end of this little canyon hike.

Now, in the years we've been doing this show we've never seen an actual active desert waterfall, so we're looking forward to that.

And, this water trickle behind us is encouraging.

>>Chris: You know, in all the times we've driven by here we never knew there was a natural wonder, so I'm anxious to see if we can find it.

>>Dave: Yeah.

I hope we can find it.

Music >>Chris: Luckily, the trail is clearly marked and easy to follow.

There is a slight incline, but it's nothing to worry about.

Music >>Chris: As we hike further up, the canyons walls rise about 300 feet above us.

And, the vegetation is lush and dense.

We can hear the cascading water off to our right, so we're confident that we'll find our waterfall.

Music >>Dave: The canyon begins to narrow and we become aware of one hike hazard - stinging nettle.

This is a bothersome weed because brushing against it can cause a stinging sensation.

Music >>Dave: About a mile into the hike the trail becomes less visible.

The canyon has narrowed substantially.

For a moment, we're not sure we can continue at all due to the dense overgrowth.

Music >>Chris: The trail narrows even more and we're forced into a small, but very active creek that runs along the canyon wall.

We can hear what sounds like the waterfall just ahead of us.

>>Dave: Wow!

>>Chris: Whoa!

>>Dave: Oh.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: Whew!

>>Chris: Oooh!

>>Dave: It's a challenge.

>>Chris: To have legs that were >>Dave: To say the least.

Hey!

Hey, we've got a... >>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: We've got water.

>>Chris: That was almost a water ride.

Oh, my gosh!

Look at that!

>>Dave: Aww, look at that!

>>Chris: Oh, how cool!

>>Dave: That is spectacular!

>>Chris: Hey, we found a waterfall!

>>Dave: A real waterfall.

>>Chris: Look at it!

>>Dave: Nice.

>>Chris: That... >>Dave: That is gorgeous.

>>Chris: That is absolutely gorgeous.

You know what?

That makes every bit of stinging nettles that we walked through worth it.

>>Dave: (Laughs) >>Chris: Right there.

>>Dave: That is amazing.

The first real desert waterfall that we've ever seen.

>>Chris: That's absolutely gorgeous.

That was a beautiful hike.

>>Dave: Couldn't be better.

>>Chris: Absolutely gorgeous.

>>Dave: Well, we could've had no nettles, but otherwise.... >>Chris: You know what?

Honestly, it made it worth it.

>>Dave: It is amazing.

>>Chris: Wow.

>>Dave: What a great place to come.

We, we didn't even know about it!

>>Chris: How many times have we driven by it?

>>Dave: (Laughs) 10?

How lucky are we?

>>Chris: More evidence that you gotta get out of the car and explore.

>>Dave: Ahh.

Put some of this cool water on your stinging legs.

>>Chris: (Laughs) I think I'll hold off for the chamomile.

>>Dave: (Laughs) Oh, wow.

>>Dave: Whew, well, that desert waterfall was fantastic.

>>Chris: Gorgeous.

>>Dave: But, to see it we did pay a little bit of a price.

>>Chris: (Laughs) >>Dave: And, that price is right here.

This is called 'stinging nettle'.

And, uh, it's not that dangerous, but it does leave a little stinger on your arms and legs.

So, when you come out to hike this trail, wear long sleeves and long pants and you'll be fine.

>>Chris: Unlike me this trip.

>>Dave: Right.

>>Chris: But, it was well worth it because the waterfall is gorgeous and it was a beautiful way to conclude this trip.

And, Fallon was the perfect place to base all of our explorations from.

It made everything easy and accessible.

>>Dave: Yeah.

Now, if you'd like to know more about this or any of our Wild Nevada trips, go to our website.

It's knpb.org.

>>Chris: While you're there, send us an e-mail and tell us about some of your Nevada adventures.

And, until our next Wild Nevada, you go out and explore this beautiful state for yourself.

MUSIC Major production funding for Wild Nevada is made possible by the Nevada Commission on Tourism, who encourages everyone to explore the Silver State's hidden treasures.