Looking west from Trona Pinnacles Road
by Joe Schofield
Title
Looking west from Trona Pinnacles Road
Artist
Joe Schofield
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Facing west from Trona Pinnacles road toward Argus Peak. A flooded gravel road and the pervasive sound of silence. Adjacent to Searles dry lake and the nearly abandoned town of Trona.
Trona was “born” a company town – literally. In 1914, the American Trona Company established its namesake for the mineral found in the Searles dry lakebed. The community and its residents flourished for the next 60 years, until a series of unfortunate events including factory buy-outs, production cuts and massive layoffs. Thousands of people left Trona.
A double-whammy of large earthquakes was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic less than a year later. Then more residents moved away. A most forlorn yet tenacious little company town. If you drive through headed to Death Valley, take a moment or two to pull over.
Here, take a look: https://youtu.be/rkUJvVrb3bE
Uploaded
December 27th, 2025
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