The Grandstand, Mountain summit in Death Valley National Park, California, US

The Grandstand is a quartz-monzonite (adamellite) outcrop of two dark grey rock mounds joined by a shallow saddle, rising about 20 metres above the light tan clay of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. The southern mound is the taller by a few feet. On its south side, wave-cut erosion has left an overhang about 30 feet above the playa floor.

The Grandstand is a quartz-monzonite intrusion that solidified in the late Mesozoic and was exposed during the Pleistocene, the same period that revealed Ubehebe Peak and the Panamint and Cottonwood ranges. Wave-cut erosion on its south side left a 30-foot overhang above the playa, evidence that the Racetrack region once received much more precipitation. The sources record no 1920s naming story.

The name comes from the two dark rock mounds with a shallow saddle between them, which early visitors compared to stadium seating above the playa. The National Park Service has placed descriptive signage at the formation and a bench, donated by docents, from which visitors view The Grandstand, the playa and the Cottonwood Mountains to the east.

Access requires high-clearance vehicles due to the roughly 27-mile unpaved road across rough terrain. Bring plenty of water, emergency supplies, and repair materials since help is far away and the area offers no services.

The Grandstand is made of quartz monzonite, an intrusive igneous rock that cooled slowly underground and solidified in the late Mesozoic Era. It was exposed at the surface during the Pleistocene epoch, and on its south side wave-cut erosion has left an overhang about 30 feet above the playa floor, evidence of wetter eras.