Trona Pinnacles

The Trona Pinnacles are a collection of over 500 tufa towers, some reaching 140 feet tall, formed underwater when ancient Searles Lake covered this valley. These calcium carbonate spires create an alien landscape that’s doubled for other planets in countless films. The formations are scattered across roughly 14 square miles of desert, with informal trails winding between the largest towers.

Access is via a rough 5-mile dirt road from Highway 178 — high-clearance recommended but not required for careful drivers. No facilities exist here, and summer temperatures are brutal. The area sees heavy use during cooler months, with photographers and stargazers drawn to the dark skies and dramatic formations.

Alien tufa spires in the Mojave Desert