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Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes in Death Valley by Tuxyso –

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about the Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is one of the hottest places on Earth, along with deserts in the Middle East and the Sahara. 

Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. It is 84.6 miles east-southeast of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. Death Valley is known to be 1.7 billion years old.

The intense heat in Death Valley, apart from its other natural conditions, contributes to solar heating. It is exacerbated by the valley’s dry, clear air. During the day the warm air rises and the winds are warm in many ways.  Let鈥檚 look at the top 10 Unbelievable Facts about the Death Valley.

1. Death Valley is the largest Park in the Contiguous US

Death Valley is 3.4 million acres (or 5,270 square miles), making it the largest in the contiguous US. There are several National Parks in Alaska that are larger, including Denali, and Wrangell-St. Elias and Gates of the Arctic. 

Death Valley鈥檚 large area is part of the Mohave Desert and includes five sets of sand dunes, two mountain ranges, one XL volcano crater, and one XXL salt basin.

2. Death Valley is regarded as Hotter than Hell

A film crew in Death Valley, California, filming Return of the Jedi by National Park Service –

Death Valley hit a record high of 130鈥橣 in April of 2020. Actually, hell is said to be 444.6鈥橣, which is the temperature at which brimstone changes from a liquid to a gas. But still, Death Valley is indeed hotter than anywhere else in the world.

It rivals places like the Taklimakan Desert in Western China (122鈥橣-154鈥橣) and the Lut Desert in Iran (which once topped out at 158鈥橣). Average summer temperatures for Death Valley regularly hit 115鈥橣.

3. Death Valley is Drier than the Sahara

Death Valley receives just 1.5鈥� of average rainfall a year, compared to an average of 3.9鈥� for the Sahara. This occurs because the high Panamint and Sierra mountain ranges loom over a very low valley floor, creating a rain shadow.

But just because Death Valley doesn鈥檛 get a lot of rain, doesn鈥檛 mean that its completely dry. It has over 600 springs and ponds, including Salt Creek and Travertine Springs at what is now the Furnace Creek campground.

4. Death Valley was named by lost and exhausted pioneers in 1849

The Death Valley National Park Sign coming from Death Valley Junction by Vezoy –

After the Donner Party disaster in 1846, pioneers became reluctant to cross the Northern Sierras in the fall. So, in 1849, a party of gold-seekers looking for a better life, also went looking for a better route into California. They decided to forge that route by skirting around the southern edge of the Sierras.

A splinter group made the bad call to take a shortcut through western Nevada and into the Panamint mountain range. Lost and starving, part of the group hunkered down at Travertine Springs while an intrepid advance team trudged 300 miles to the nearest Mission. A month later, they headed back with 鈥渞einforcements鈥� consisting of three horses and a half-blind mule.

One of the horses died and two were abandoned, so it was up to the half-blind mule to lead the remaining stragglers out of the area. As the bedraggled group finally made their way out of the valley, one of them is said to have proclaimed 鈥淕oodbye, Death Valley鈥�, and the name stuck

5. The Death Valley Area Has the Highest and Lowest Spots in the Lower 48

There are 14,787 feet of vertical elevation between the highest and lowest spots in the region. Nearby Mount Whitney is just east of the park and it tops out at 14,505 feet elevation, making it the second-highest spot in the US after Alaska鈥檚 Denali (20,310). The Badwater Basin is the lowest point in all of the US, sitting at 282 feet below sea level. 

If you go to Dantes View, you can get a wide view of the Badwater Basin and also see the Sierra Nevadas in the distance, which underscores how close they really are (132 miles).

6. Death Valley has the Best Sunrises

Light of rising sun displaces the shadows in death valley by Islander61 –

If ever you鈥檙e in the death valley, you must get up early for the sunrise! The Mesquite Dunes and Zabriskie Point are both great at dawn.

Get to Mesquite Dunes about 30 minutes before dawn so that you have time to walk out into the sand. Stay at Zabriskie Point for about 30 minutes after dawn, because the rising light creates cool shadows and shapes on the folded mountain terrain.

7. There are 52 Types of Mammals in Death Valley

A wide range of both large and small mammals make their home in the park. You could be forgiven for thinking that the dry climate, hot temperatures, and deadly landscape would be inhospitable to mammals. But there are 52 types of mammals living in the park. 

This includes smaller species like squirrels, bats, chipmunks, mice, rats, gophers, rabbits, and foxes. But there are even larger carnivores like the coyote, bobcat, and mountain lion. There are also hoofed beasts like the burro, wild horses, mule deer, and bighorn sheep.

8. Death Valley Became a Park Through Corporate Philanthropy

Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park by Brocken Inaglory –

After those 49er pioneers and their one-eyed mule nearly died, Death Valley later became a borax mining boom-town in the 1880s. Then, in the 1920s the Pacific Coast Borax Company began lobbying the National Park Service and the general public about the need to preserve the area鈥檚 natural resources.

It was a rare and generous act of corporate philanthropy for Pacific Coast Borax to advocate turning their cash cow into a conservation area. Fortunately, they succeeded and the area was designated a National Monument in 1933. Mining continued in the area until the region received official National Park designation in 1994.

9. Death Valley comes alive with color and life in the spring

While the park is famous for its rare and spectacular wildflower displays, flowers are never totally absent in the off years. When conditions are right, the hills and valleys explode into a carpet of gold, purple, pink, or white flowers. Deep soaking rain is essential for a desert floral display.

To begin, a rainstorm of a half-inch or more is needed to wash the protective coating off wildflower seeds and allow them to sprout. For plants to continue growing, rainstorms must come at evenly-spaced intervals throughout the winter and spring. Super Blooms are fleeting, but they leave a lasting impression on park visitors and attract large numbers of pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.

10. There are six species of fish found in Death Valley

Finding fish in the desert doesn鈥檛 sound possible, but surprisingly there are six species of fish that can survive in the salty waters and harsh conditions of Death Valley.

One of them is the endangered Devil’s Hole Pupfish. It only resides in the 93-degree waters of Devils Hole, where water temperatures and oxygen concentrations are lethal to most other fish. These inch-long iridescent blue pupfish are one of the world鈥檚 rarest fish.