Patterns in the landform

The badlands at the Zabriskie Point (death valley, California, USA) rest upon a mudstone foundation. In the pre-historic lakes of death valley fine grained sediments would deposit to form soft rocks. The clay minerals in the mudstone are shaped like tiny planes. The combination of the almost impermeable mudstone and Death Valley's scant rainfall makes plant growth and soil development nearly impossible. You can see dry, golden-brown rock everywhere in the badlands of the death valley. Vegetation has almost no presence. At the Death Valley rainfall is intense but sporadic. Very long periods of drought are punctuated with drenching downpours. With so little vegetation and no soil, when water reaches the ground, there is nothing to absorb the rainfall. During Death Valley's rain showers, water hits the surface and immediately begins to rush down the steep slopes, sweeping along particles of loosened mud. Astonishing high rate of erosion leaves distinct patterns in the tiny landform at the Zabriskie Point that would otherwise be visible in landforms of several hundred square kilometres. The badlands at the Zabriskie Point are therefore like experimental scale models that mimic continental scale landforms.