Question

20-mule teams hauled borax salts out of Death Valley, and the valley still has lots of salt, sand, and river gravel in the bottom. The most likely explanation is: Group of answer choices Wind and rivers cut the valley deep, and after the river dried up, the river gravel, salt and sand were left behind. The valley was paved with salt, sand and gravel by a movie company for a really spectacular stunt in the Dukes of Hazzard movie, involving long-distance car chases and Daisy leaping the boys’ car across the entire park. The valley was dropped relative to the mountains by faulting, and rivers have been (and still are) carrying gravel, sand and salts down from the mountains into the valley. The valley was dropped relative to the mountains by faulting; the salts, sand and gravel had been deposited on mountain tops by rivers and wind before the faulting started, and then were dropped down by the faulting. The valley was raised by faulting, bringing up the salts, sand and gravel from subterranean caves.

Answer 1

The salt, sand, and river gravel in Death Valley are most likely due to faulting and the ongoing deposition of materials from mountain erosion, shaped by long-term geological processes. The correct answer is option 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

Considering the provided information, the most likely explanation for the presence of salt, sand, and river gravel in the bottom of Death Valley is that the valley was dropped relative to the mountains by faulting, and rivers have been (and still are) carrying gravel, sand and salts down from the mountains into the valley. Death Valley lies near the boundary of tectonic plates, and the movements of these plates have created conditions for the development of the valley.

Over time, this tectonic activity coupled with wind and water erosion has filled the valley with sediment deposits from the surrounding mountains. These deposits are characterized by allu-vial fans, which are fan-shaped accumulations of sediment that have been transported by moving water from the mountains to the valley floor.

The sediment-filled basin of Death Valley is evidence of a dynamic Earth, where geological processes such as uplift, faulting, and erosion have transformed the landscape over millennia. The valley's extreme aridity and the rain shadow effect also contribute to its unique geographical features. These processes help explain why, despite historical borax mining operations, there is still an abundance of salt and other sediments in the valley.