Death
Valley National Park
The valley is a long, low depression set in largely barren
and unpopulated country of desert plains and rocky ridges,
east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is over 130 miles
long, but only around 12 miles wide, running roughly north-south
near the border with Nevada.
From an elevation of 1000
meters at the north end, the land slopes down steadily and
for 70 miles the floor is below sea level, reaching a low
point of -86 meters at Badwater, the lowest point in the
Western hemisphere. The depth of the depression is partly
responsible for the extreme high temperatures, which can
exceed 130°F in summer. High, unvegetated mountains
of sombre reddish colour flank the narrow valley on both
sides; a few are high enough to have snow for many months
of the year.
The low, salty pool at Badwater, just beside the main park
road is probably the best known and most visited place in
Death Valley. The actual lowest point (-282 feet) is located
several miles from the road and is not easily accessible
- in fact its position varies, but a sign in front of the
pool proclaims it too to have an elevation of -282 feet,
and it is here that everyone comes to take photographs.
An enlarged parking area and other new facilities were constructed
in fall 2003 to cope with the ever increasing visitor numbers
at the site.
Several salt trails and
shallow seasonal streams lead towards other pools out across
the valley. During occasional rainy periods, a large shallow
lake forms, several miles across and only a few inches deep,
but most of the water soon evaporates or sinks below ground.
Badwater never dries out completely, and even manages to
support a unique species of fish - the Death Valley pupfish,
a small bluish creature which has evolved to survive in
the hot saline conditions. South of the salt pools, the
seasonal Amargosa River meanders for 30 miles via several
routes towards the mouth of the valley, before sinking into
the sand.
Hemmed
in by nine mountain ranges, Death Valley is cut off from
rejuvenating rainfall and cooling Pacific winds, making
it one of the driest and hottest places in the world. A
record high temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded
there in 1913, and a ground temperature of 201 degrees has
also been registered—11 degrees shy of the boiling
point for water.
This valley is also a land
of subtle beauties: Morning light creeping across the eroded
badlands of Zabriskie Point to strike Manly Beacon, the
setting sun and lengthening shadows on the Sand Dunes at
Stovepipe Wells, and the colors of myriad wildflowers on
the golden hills above Harmony Borax on a warm spring day.
Death Valley is a treasure
trove of scientific information about the ancient Earth
and about the forces still working to shape our modern world.
It is home to plants, animals, and human beings that have
adapted themselves to take advantage of its rare and hard
won bounty. It is a story of western expansion, wealth,
greed, suffering and triumph. Death Valley is a land of
extremes, and much more.
Death
Valley National Park photo gallery |
