Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire, 55 miles north of Las Vegas, is an area with spectacular
rock formations caused by earth movements and millions of years of erosion.
The oldest rock is estimated to be 600 million years old. At sunset, the
valley appears to be "on fire" as most of the rocks are in shades
of red caused by iron minerals.
Two of unusual rock formations are the Elephant Rock 
and the Seven Sisters .
Small groups of people lived in this region starting about 2,000 BC and
depended much on the bighorn sheep as their main source of food. They
used the atlatl ,
a notched stick, for hunting, later replaced by bow and arrow. There are
several sites with petroglyphs, whose meanings are unknown.
The Valley of Fire State Park was established in 1935 (Nevada's first state park). The Visitor Information Center (open from 8:30 am till 4:30 pm) provides valuable information about the park. There are picnic areas and two campgrounds.
