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Beginning in the 1890s, much of the Amargosa region just east of Death Valley was extensively explored and mined for nitre, a naturally occurring nitrate, first used for gunpowder and later for glass, matches, explosives, and fertilizer.  The sites included Zabriskie, Resting Springs, Tule Springs, Upper Canyon, Lower Canyon, Salt Spring, Saratoga, Round Mountain, Valley, Confidence, and Owl Spring. But it’s unknown whether the miners might have realized that the Amargosa River, the region’s most spectacular feature, would draw the worldwide attention it enjoys today.

Originating in the Oasis Valley, near the Nevada town of Beatty, a little northwest of Las Vegas, one of the country’s most wild and scenic – but little known – rivers begins its journey. At first, the Amargosa River heads south, staying well hidden underground, collecting groundwater and spring water along its way. Shortly after it crosses the California state line, it picks up the additional flow from Shoshone Spring, near the historic town of Shoshone. From there it flows further south through Tecopa, another historic desert town, and then drops into the Amargosa Canyon, where an explosion of life occurs among the sculptured mudstone walls, with plants, birds, and fishes found nowhere else in the world.  Finally, near the towering Dumont Dunes, over 400 foot tall, the river bends westward then north and heads for Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, where it terminates its 185-mile journey at the lowest point in North America.

At least 227 species of birds have been sighted in and around the Amargosa River. Many are birds that were never “supposed to be” there in the first place. There are many possible reasons for their appearance, including being off course during migration, weather conditions, some type of internal malfunction, population growth, shift, or range dispersal.

The Earth’s climbing temperatures spell particular trouble for these birds, who can’t effectively cool their bodies in extreme heat. A study by UC Berkeley scientists published in 2018 showed that the Mojave Desert has lost more than 40 percent of its bird species over the last hundred years; researchers point to the loss of surface water caused in part by climate change.

Earlier climate changes have also had an impact. The current landscape looks nothing like it did more than 10,000 years ago when present-day Nevada was full of lakes and interconnected rivers. As temperatures climbed and the waters receded, animals and plants became stranded in isolated locations, where they evolved into distinct species. 

Ash Meadows, a national wildlife refuge in the Amargosa basin, is believed to have the greatest concentration of endemic species (those found in one place and nowhere else) in the United States. This is where the world’s rarest fish species exist: the Devil’s Hole pupfish, the smallest of all pupfishes. It is one of at least 10 species of inch-long pupfish, tiny iridescent blue fish so named because they seem to play with one another like frisky puppies. Confined to a rock shelf no bigger than a large rug inside a water-filled cave, the Devil’s Hole pupfish is thought to have the tiniest habitat of any endangered vertebrate species in the world.