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ACTIVITY CALENDAR
Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Associaton
P O BOX 310, Borrego Springs, CA 92004 760-767-3098
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Important Program
Information
Unless
specified otherwise in the activity descriptions below, all hikes and
field trips have a
15 person limit and they begin in the
ABDNHA parking lot.
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SPECIAL DESERT LECTURE SERIES WEBINAR
Apr. 25, Thu., 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Lithium and
the Salton Sea
Speaker: Jim Turner, Director and
Chief Operating Officer of Controlled Thermal Resources
The webinar is free but registration is required:
REGISTER
ABDNHA's webinar in 2022 with Jim Turner about lithium
extraction at the Salton Sea was our most highly
attended webinar ever. Controlled Thermal Resources
(CTR) is one of three companies that will be extracting
lithium from facilities on lands just south of the sea.
Construction of CTR's plant is now underway. Jim
returns tonight with an update on lithium extraction at
the Salton Sea, an explanation of how the extraction
will take place, and background history of geothermal
power production at the sea. For millions of years the
Salton Sea basin has been stretched and pulled apart by
the action of the San Andreas fault, resulting in what
is called the Salton Trough.
For all of those
millions of years water has poured in from the surface,
water that is rich in minerals. At a depth of 8,000
feet below the surface vast amounts of superhot water,
or brine, holds one of the richest sources of lithium in
all of North America. The geothermal industry has made
use of that that hot water for decades, extracting the
hot water from deep beneath the earth, using the steam
to generate geothermal electricity, and then pumping the
water back down into the earth.
Lithium
extraction adds one step to that process; lithium is
taken out of the water before it is pumped back down.
Lithium is essential for the needs of America’s electric
future, for electric vehicles, computers, solar power
storage, batteries, and communication. The Salton Sea
basin is America’s largest source of the important metal
and one of the world’s largest, with annual production
estimated to be as much as 600,000 tons. There are very
few large sources of lithium in North America. The
extraction process of removing lithium from super-heated
brine 8,000 feet below the surface also has the
potential to make the Salton Sea lithium extraction
process one of the greenest lithium mining projects in
the world.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Moonrise & Sunset at
Fonts Point
Apr. 23, Tue., 6:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
This is an ABDNHA Members Only Activity
Photography: Moonrise over the Badlands & Sunset over
the Mountains
Leader: ABDNHA Program Director Mike
McElhatton
This is a newly listed program that does
not appear in the Spring Sand Paper This is a special
photography program for member photographers. Come
along with us to Fonts Point to photograph the setting
of the sun to the west ( at 7:23 pm.) , quickly followed
by the moonrise over the Borrego Badlands ( at 7:27
p.m.) to the east. We will stay as long as the light
allows. We will leave the ABDNHA parking lot at 6:15
p.m., allowing enough time to reach Fonts Point and get
set up for the moonrise and sunset. Fonts Point always
requires a high clearance a vehicle adequate for sand.
The road will be checked prior to the activity and the
group will be updated with current conditions and that
will determine acceptable vehicles. We will carpool
from the ABDNHA parking lot. All levels of experience
and photography equipment is welcome, Bring snacks and
your favorite beverage! 22 max. No charge, ABDNHA
Members only, Register at Nature Center, 760-767-3098.
BORREGO ROCK AND GEM CLUB
Apr. 24,
Wed., 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 pm
Borrego Rock and Gem (BRAG) Club Meeting
Meet at ABDNHA Activity Room.
May 3 Fri. 9:00am-2:00pm (Depart
from ABDNHA)
4WD Yaqui Well to Culp Valley
Leader:Dave Walters
Depart ABDNHA parking lot 9:00am
travel to Yaqui Well Rd 4WD trail elev 1427’ft . Drive
along San Felipe Creek stop at flats below Bitter Creek
Canyon to view the wildflower bloom. Traveling on we
stop briefly at Stuart Spring to view birds and plant
life. Continuing on to The Slab elevation 4200’ft with
views of the Salton Sea and surrounding mountain peaks,
we take lunch here. After lunch, we drive to Culp Valley
say our goodbyes and return to the pavement at S22 aka
Montezuma Vly Rd. Off road distance 17.5 mile. Call or
visit the ABDNHA Nature Center to register 760-767-3098.
May 4, Sat., 8:00 a.m. - TBA
Hike: Volcan Mountain
Hike Leader: Rachel Rench - ABDNHA Volunteer
This moderately strenuous 5.3 mile hike climbs 1300'
from the trailhead on Farmer's Road through an oak
forest until reaching a Summit ridge with wide open
views of the desert to the East, and San Diego County to
the West. Large signs on both sides of the ridge
identify the mountains you can see off in the distance.
Be prepared for some steep climbing on a fire road on
the way up, with stops along the way to admire the views
of the apple orchards and vineyards near Julian. On
the way down, we'll take the Five Oaks Trail for a
different perspective. Meet at ABDNHA at 8:00 a.m.
No charge, ABDNHA Members only, Register
at Nature Center, 760-767-3098.
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