Death Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Death Valley is a valley in the U.S. state of California, and is the location of the lowest elevation in North America at -86 meters. (It is often mistakenly described as the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere, but that is actually Laguna del Carbon 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).[1]
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[edit] 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.
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.
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.
[edit] 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'.
[edit] 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.
- The Undertaker, Mark Callaway's WWE character, was billed as having been born in Death Valley.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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)]
- ^ Wright, John W. (ed.); Editors and reporters of The New York Times (2006). The New York Times Almanac, 2007, New York, New York: Penguin Books, 456. ISBN 0-14-303820-6.
[edit] External links
- Death Valley on the PBS show Nature
- Death Valley travel guide from Wikitravel
Fauna, Flora and Minerals
Borax • Chuckwalla • Death Valley monkeyflower • Death Valley pupfish • Devil's Hole pupfish • Salt Creek Pupfish
History
Death Valley Railroad • Greenwater • Lake Manly • Skidoo
Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad • Twenty mule team
Places
Amargosa Range / River / Valley • Ash Meadows NWR • Badwater • Ballarat • Beatty • Chloride City • Death Valley Junction • Eureka Dunes • Furnace Creek • Panamint City / Range / Springs / Valley • Racetrack • Rhyolite • Scotty's Castle • Stovepipe Wells • Telescope Peak • Trona • Ubehebe Crater • Zabriske Point
Transportation
CA SR127 • CA SR178 • CA SR190 • NV SR373 •NV SR374 • Trona Railway • US 95
