Mojave Mike Climbs Obsidian Hill

Mojave Mike had a great idea to check out Obsidian Hill over by the Salton Sea the other day so off we went.  With my knee, I was not up for the trek, but Mojave Mike hiked it and brought back some samples.  

Here is a photo of Mojave Mike hiking up the hill.  You can see the chunk of obsidian at the top.

                                         Sample of Obsidian that Mojave Mike brought back to car

Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock, the result of cooled lava.  Obsidian is hard and brittle; it is sharp!  So if you go exploring up there, wear gloves if you want to pick up the obsidian.  It is mineral-like but not a true mineral because it is a glass and does not have a crystalline structure and is sometimes classified as a mineraloid.  Obsidian is usually dark in appearance, dark brown or black, but can vary.  Sometimes the inclusionn of small, white clustered crystals of cristobalite in the black glass gives a snowflake pattern, hence, you have Snowflake Obsidian.  

                                       Snowflake Obsidian available from  www.ciscotraders.net


Obsidian is used for knife blades and for scalpel blades for research or surgery on animals (not approved by FDA for human surgery) and to make jewelry and decorative items. Metaphysically, it is purported to be the "stone of truth" and also to dispel negativity.

Obsidian Hill is a small hill located on Red Hill Island which is a small island located off the eastern shores of the Salton Sea in southeastern California.  The Salton Sea itself was actually formed by a canal breach from the Colorado River during a big flood.  The area was a depression (below sea level) and so filled up with water.  The water is very salty and full of chemicals due to the local farming runoff.  Not a good idea to go wind surfing in this water!  Anyway, it is very smelly and not so pleasant although the day we were there it was nice and breezy and not unpleasant at all, it was actually quite nice. 

                                                        Mojave Mike surveys the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is a waypoint for migrating birds; much of the Salton Sea is managed as the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge.   We even saw a HUGE pelican swimming merrily along.  This thing was ENORMOUS, we were easily 1000 feet away from it and look how big it was!

But I digress....

Red Hill Island is a cool place with some interesting rock formations.  

How to get there:
Go on state highway CA 111.  About halfway between the towns of Niland and Calipatria, turn west on Sinclair Road, go about three miles on Garst Road, and go north 1.5 miles to Red Hill Road.  Go west on Red Hill Road to the island.  You will see Obsidian Hill at this point and follow it around to see Red Hill Island and the Salton Sea.  

Along the way you will also see the Mudpots, bubbling away.  It is signed with "No Trespassing Keep Out" signs but no one seems to heed the warnings. There were about five people out there that day on the site.  Very cool place but creepily has some huge cracks in the ground, making me wonder if I would be a Mudpot Sinkhole victim!  Luckily, we made it out okay but not before Mojave Mike was sprayed with hot mudpot goo when he got too close filming one of the mudpots!   

All along those roads and at the Salton Sea you will see the Geothermal Power Plants.  There are a total of seven plants and the steam plumes are clearly visible from many miles away.  Very awesome sight to behold!