page_title: Eureka Valley (Inyo County)
section_title: Ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Eureka Valley (Inyo County) / Sand Dunes / Ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: These night-blooming Evening Primrose are only found on the Eureka Dunes in northern Death Valley.
context_page_description: Eureka Valley is located in Inyo County, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. It is approximately 28 miles long and up to 10 miles wide, with elevations varying from 2870 feet up to 8456 feet. The southern section of the valley is now part of the Death Valley National Park - Death Valley itself lies just to the southeast. To the north is Deep Springs Valley, Fish Lake Valley, and the White Mountain Range. To the east the Last Chance Range rises over 5500 feet above the valley floor. To the west are the Saline Mountains, and to the southwest lies Saline Valley.
  Eureka Valley is a graben, like most other lower-lying areas of the Basin and Range Province. An improved gravel road crosses the valley, connecting the community of Big Pine to the northern Grapevine section of Death Valley. A 10-mile gravel road provides access to the southern end of the valley. More primitive routes exit the valley to the northwest via Soldier Pass, to the northeast via Horse Thief Pass, and to the south via Dedeckera Canyon.
  The valley has two distinguishing features. Its shape alters the wind in such a way as to collect sand near its southern end, leading to the unique Eureka Dunes.
context_section_description: The Eureka Dunes are the home of several unique (and protected) plant species.  The Eureka Dune Grass (Swallenia alexandrae), the Eureka Evening Primrose (Oenothera californica eurekensis), and the Shining Locoweed (Astragalus lentiginosus micans) are only found in this area.  Visitors to the dunes may also experience other unique aspects of these dunes, other than the booming. In wet weather, patterns can be seen in the sand that reveals the diverse sources, and the complex Aeolian process by which these dunes are formed (and re-formed- sources and processes that are not yet fully understood.
caption: Eureka Evening Primrose
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