Death Valley

Death Valley and Panamint Range

The salt lake at Badwater, Death Valley is the lowest point in North America.

For other uses, see Death Valley (disambiguation).

Death Valley is a valley in the U.S. state of California, and is the location of the lowest elevation in North America at -282 feet (-86 meters). (It is often mistakenly described as the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere, but that is actually Laguna del Carbón in Argentina at -105 meters.) Located southeast of the Sierra Nevada range in the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert, it comprises much of Death Valley National Park. It runs north-south between the Amargosa Range to the east and the Panamint Range to the west; the Sylvania Mountains and the Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern boundaries, respectively. It has an area of about 3,000 square miles (~7,800 km²).

Geography

Geologically, Death Valley is considered one of the best examples of the Basin and Range configuration. Located in California, Death Valley is the principal feature of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve.

Temperatures in the Valley can range from up to 130°F (54 °C) in the day in the summer, to below freezing at night in the winter.

Many of Death Valley's narrow, serpentine roads were built in the 1930s and cannot be driven at high speed.

Death Valley Dunes

Landsat 7 imagery of Death Valley. Green indicates vegetation, which increases with altitude. The varying shades of brown, beige, and rust indicate bare ground; the different colors result from varying mineral compositions in the rocks and dirt. Although they may appear to be pools of water, the bright blue-green patches in the scene are actually salt pans that hold only a little moisture.

Badwater, located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest point in North America. (Surprisingly, the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, is just 76 miles (123 km) west of Death Valley.) At 282 feet (86 m) below sea level, Death Valley shares most of the characteristics found in other places around the world that lie below sea level. Generally, the lower the altitude of a place, the higher the temperatures tend to be. This is especially true in Death Valley, due to the mountains that encircle the valley. The valley radiates extreme amounts of heat, creating temperatures that are among the hottest on earth. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States was 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913. The highest average high temperature in July is 116 °F (47 °C) with temperatures of 122 °F (50 °C) or higher being very common. The valley receives less than 2 in (50 mm) of rain annually. The Amargosa River and Furnace Creek flow through the valley, disappearing into the sands of the valley floor.

While very little rain falls in Death Valley, the valley is prone to flooding during heavy rains because the soil is unable to absorb the bulk of the water. The runoff can produce dangerous flash floods. In August 2004, such flooding occurred, causing two deaths and shutting down the national park.

File:Death Valley Tourists.jpg

Death Valley

During the late Pleistocene, the valley was inundated by prehistoric Lake Manly. The valley received its name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush by emigrants who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields. During the 1850s, gold and silver were extracted in the valley. In the 1880s, borax was discovered and extracted by mule-drawn wagons.

Climate Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)	18	22	27	32	37	42	46	45	41	33	24	18	32
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)	3	7	11	16	21	26	30	29	23	15	8	3	16
Mean monthly rainfall (cm)	0.8	1	0.7	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.5	5.5
Source: Weatherbase

Native population

Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past 1000 years. Some families still live in the valley at Furnace Creek. The name of the valley, tümpisa, means 'rock paint' and refers to the valley as a source of red ochre paint. Another village in the valley was located in Grapevine Canyon near the present site of Scotty's Castle. It was called maahunu in the Timbisha language, the meaning of which is uncertain although hunu means 'canyon'.

In popular culture

• The final chapters of Frank Norris's 1899 novel McTeague are set in Death Valley.
• Death Valley is shown in the movies Death Valley, Queen of the Damned, and Zabriskie Point (the location of the film's famous desert love scene).
• Alanis Morissette's music video for 1995's "You Oughta Know" was filmed in Death Valley.
• World Wrestling Entertainment superstar The Undertaker, for most of his 17 year career, has been billed as being from Death Valley.

See also

• Places of interest in the Death Valley area
• Death Valley National Park
• Geology of the Death Valley area
• Death Valley pupfish
• Racetrack Playa
• Richard Benyo
• Stan Jones (songwriter)

References

• UNESCO Biosphere Preserve: Mojave and Colorado Deserts
• [http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/OddPics/Playa.html Strange moving rocks of the valley
• [1]

(External Link)]

External links

• Death Valley on the PBS show Nature
• Template:Wikitravel

36°14′N 116°46′W