Death Valley: Hell on Earth or the Most Surreal Park in America? Here’s Why You Must Go
Death Valley, the “Valley of Death”, is an American national park of over 13,000 km² located in southern California, with the exception of a small portion belonging to the state of Nevada. The valley is contained within the Mojave Desert, the secret soul of California, too often forgotten by tourists attracted only and exclusively by the coast.
History and Exploration
This torrid desert constituted for almost the entire 19th century the main land access to California, with fur trappers, traders, and settlers who wandered there for kilometers in every season, not to mention the great mineral wealth of the subsoil, which attracted tens of thousands of gold seekers during a good part of the second half of the 19th century.
Once the gold and silver mines in the area were exhausted, many of the settlements that had sprung up specifically for this purpose were abandoned, causing a general depopulation of the territory. At the turn of the 20th century, however, a new generation of desert lovers emerged: Jack Mitchell settled in the uncultivated lands of the East Mojave Desert, transforming the Mitchell Caverns into a renowned tourist destination; Walter Edward Scott, known as “Death Valley Scott,” spent much of his life in a castle built in the 1920s by his friend Albert Johnson and adjacent to the hottest and lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley.
The Landscape and Geography
Every year, Death Valley National Park welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the world, who come to admire the quality of its historic sites and suggestive naturalistic panoramas. A region of extreme upheavals, this depression carved into the earth’s crust reaches the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, and has on both sides a perimeter characterized by very high mountain ranges, which reach up to 3,350 meters in the western part, generating razor-sharp peaks.
Inhospitable and year-round, Death Valley boasts pale colors and smooth canyons, scorching salt flats, and delicate rock formations.
Furnace Creek and Its Role in the Valley
As we delve deeper into the valley, we come across Furnace Creek, the main town, located right in the heart of the valley. In addition to offering all the services, grocery stores, lodging, transportation, etc., the center is practically equidistant from almost all the major points of interest in the park, which are relatively close to the town.
Once upon a time, the water sources surrounding the town attracted the Shoshone Indians every winter, but now the same abundant springs make Furnace Creek an oasis, with numerous buildings shaded by centuries-old palm trees. The lowest golf course in the world is also located here, 65 meters below sea level.
Main Attractions of Death Valley National Park
The most scenically interesting sites in the park are:
Salt Creek, a lake inhabited by the tough pupfish, a fish native to Death Valley that survives in waters almost four times saltier than the sea and at 44 degrees, and surrounded by the wonderful blue herons, which visitors can admire by walking along the special walkways.
Golden Canyon, five kilometers south of Furnace Creek, is characterized by its mustard yellow walls and gives the channel its name.
Devil’s Golf Course, an expanse of salt mounds located less than twenty kilometers south of Furnace Creek, was created following the evaporation of the numerous lakes that once bathed the entire area.
Badwater is inhabited by various varieties of animals, insects, and snails, despite the temperature reaching 50 degrees.
The Dunes, a 36 square kilometer extension of dunes, invite visitors to sink their feet into the sand in the company of small marsupials, lizards, rattlesnakes, and coyotes.
Dante’s View, a panoramic observation point located at 1650 meters on the perimeter hills of the valley, owes its name to Dante’s Inferno.
Zabriskie Point, made famous by the film of the same name shot in the 60s by Michelangelo Antonioni, offers breathtaking views from the multicolored hills of the Golden Canyon.
Artist’s Palette features multicolored hills of consolidated gravel, mineral deposits, and volcanic ash.
Museums and Visitor Centers
For those who want to see everything, there are also two museums to visit: the Borax Museum and the Furnace Creek Museum and Visitor Center.
The Borax Museum houses mining tools and transport devices used in borax refineries in the mid-1800s and is located near the Harmony Borax Works, the old mining plant now reduced to a crumbling ruin.
The Furnace Creek Visitor Center offers interesting finds and a slide show every half hour regarding the natural and human history of Death Valley, in addition to being, at least in winter, the starting point of beautiful walks organized by the forest ranger.
Climate and Weather Conditions
As already mentioned, the climate is torrid and inhospitable, with average temperatures in July reaching 46°C maximum and 30°C minimum, advising against being uncovered in the central hours of the day.
The winter temperature range is very high, given that in January the minimum average reaches 4°C. Precipitation is very scarce, absent in summer, with an average annual total of just over 50 mm of rain.
