Death Valley
Death Valley National Park, established on February 11, 1933, covers almost
3,000 square miles and is a vast natural museum, larger than the Yellowstone
National Park. The floor of the Valley is almost 300 feet below sea level (at
Badwater basin) and it is recognized as the lowest point in the Western
Hemisphere and one of the hottest places on earth. 134 degrees F was
recorded in 1913, second only to the 136 degrees registered in Libya in 1936.
From the top of the 11,049 foot Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range
Mountains, the floor of the Valley spreads out almost 2 miles below. It bears
the grim name Death Valley.
All the great divisions of geological time. the eras and most of their
subdivisions, are represented in the rocks of the mountains bordering the
great valley. These rocks and the land forms tell a story of endless changes in
the earth's crust - vast depositions, contortions, tiltings, alternate risings and
lowerings, faultings and intense heats and pressures that changed the very
nature of some rocks.
Climate too, has played its part. In recent geological time, powerful forces of
water, wind, and gravity have sculptured much of the scenery that you see
today. In the harsh environment of the floor of Death Valley, plants and
animals must inexorably adapt and specialize - or perish. The average yearly
rainfall here is less than 2 inches. Plants that do not grow near springs, pools,
or other permanent water have developed specialized means to obtain and
preserve water, or have adapted to quick growth and propagation through
maximum use of the scant rains that fall upon them.
Between the valley floor and the mountain ridges, plant communities change in
response to higher elevations that have lower temperatures, more rainfall and
snow. Small animals in the dry valley, through largely dependent upon plants
for survival, have made special adaptations that enable them to live on very
little water. Larger animals are able to seek out water and predators obtain
some water from the bodies of their victims.
This unique national park is open all year, but winter is the best time to visit the
points of interest in the valley. The long, hot summer - from May through
October - is only for the hardy and venturesome. Many of the side roads from
the valley are closed during this season, but you will find the higher and cooler
Panamint Mountains quite comfortable.
Evidence of the presence of man through hundred of years is found in almost
every part of the valley. Rock drawings, campsites and foot trails remain as
traces of the pre-historic hunters and gatherers.
When pioneer wagons with the first white men entered the valley on Christmas
Day 1849 (the "Forty-Niners"), the area was inhabited by Panamint Indians.
They were ill-adviced emigrants looking for a short cut to the gold fields of
California. As hardships increased, the wagon train separated into smaller
groups, such as the Jayhawkers and the Bennet-Arcane party, each with its
own theory of escape. This date marked the beginning of the turbulent modern
history of Death Valley and its mountains. The Forty-Niners were followed by
successive invasions of prospectors and miners seeking to exploit deposits of
silver and other precious metals. Each ore strike gave birth to a new
short-lived settlement. Even the "white gold of the desert", borax, failed to
support a permanent community. Thus the 1849 chapter of Death Valley
history is filled with tales of hardship and, in some cases, heroism of these first
white people in the area - the ones who in happily crying , "Good-bye, Death
Valley" , gave the area its name. Evidence of silver was brought out of the
valley by some of the 49-ers, setting off exploration for the Lost Gunsight
Silver Lode and other riches. But there was only 18 survivors out of the
original party of 30. Some of them, in order to survive, slaughtered their oxen
for food. They then burned the wagons and proceeded on foot seeking a trail
westward out of the Valley.
The long history started of prospecting and mining in the Valley. Few of the
dreams of the prospectors came true, yet there was some spectacular
exceptions, and in these lie many an interesting Death Valley story.
Best known of all the prospectors was Death Valley Scotty, a colorful
personality whose tales and exploits helped to publicize the Valley. Another
short side trip to today's Visitors Center takes you to the old Harmony Borax
Works from which, in the 1880's, famous 20 mule team borax trains hauled
their loads (up to 46,000 pounds at a time) grueling 165 miles to the railroad in
Mojave. Still standing among the crumbling adobe walls is the old broiler and
some of the vats. This was the first successful borax works in the history of
borax mining in Death Valley. Despite the existence of more deposits in the
area, Harmony Borax was closed in 1890 when the operation was transferred
to Daggett in the Calico Mountains, which was closer to rail transportation. In
1933, a presidential proclamation set aside a reservation of 2,980 sq. miles of
desert land as a National Monument, thereby assuring its continued use for
public enjoyment.
3,000 square miles and is a vast natural museum, larger than the Yellowstone
National Park. The floor of the Valley is almost 300 feet below sea level (at
Badwater basin) and it is recognized as the lowest point in the Western
Hemisphere and one of the hottest places on earth. 134 degrees F was
recorded in 1913, second only to the 136 degrees registered in Libya in 1936.
From the top of the 11,049 foot Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range
Mountains, the floor of the Valley spreads out almost 2 miles below. It bears
the grim name Death Valley.
All the great divisions of geological time. the eras and most of their
subdivisions, are represented in the rocks of the mountains bordering the
great valley. These rocks and the land forms tell a story of endless changes in
the earth's crust - vast depositions, contortions, tiltings, alternate risings and
lowerings, faultings and intense heats and pressures that changed the very
nature of some rocks.
Climate too, has played its part. In recent geological time, powerful forces of
water, wind, and gravity have sculptured much of the scenery that you see
today. In the harsh environment of the floor of Death Valley, plants and
animals must inexorably adapt and specialize - or perish. The average yearly
rainfall here is less than 2 inches. Plants that do not grow near springs, pools,
or other permanent water have developed specialized means to obtain and
preserve water, or have adapted to quick growth and propagation through
maximum use of the scant rains that fall upon them.
Between the valley floor and the mountain ridges, plant communities change in
response to higher elevations that have lower temperatures, more rainfall and
snow. Small animals in the dry valley, through largely dependent upon plants
for survival, have made special adaptations that enable them to live on very
little water. Larger animals are able to seek out water and predators obtain
some water from the bodies of their victims.
This unique national park is open all year, but winter is the best time to visit the
points of interest in the valley. The long, hot summer - from May through
October - is only for the hardy and venturesome. Many of the side roads from
the valley are closed during this season, but you will find the higher and cooler
Panamint Mountains quite comfortable.
Evidence of the presence of man through hundred of years is found in almost
every part of the valley. Rock drawings, campsites and foot trails remain as
traces of the pre-historic hunters and gatherers.
When pioneer wagons with the first white men entered the valley on Christmas
Day 1849 (the "Forty-Niners"), the area was inhabited by Panamint Indians.
They were ill-adviced emigrants looking for a short cut to the gold fields of
California. As hardships increased, the wagon train separated into smaller
groups, such as the Jayhawkers and the Bennet-Arcane party, each with its
own theory of escape. This date marked the beginning of the turbulent modern
history of Death Valley and its mountains. The Forty-Niners were followed by
successive invasions of prospectors and miners seeking to exploit deposits of
silver and other precious metals. Each ore strike gave birth to a new
short-lived settlement. Even the "white gold of the desert", borax, failed to
support a permanent community. Thus the 1849 chapter of Death Valley
history is filled with tales of hardship and, in some cases, heroism of these first
white people in the area - the ones who in happily crying , "Good-bye, Death
Valley" , gave the area its name. Evidence of silver was brought out of the
valley by some of the 49-ers, setting off exploration for the Lost Gunsight
Silver Lode and other riches. But there was only 18 survivors out of the
original party of 30. Some of them, in order to survive, slaughtered their oxen
for food. They then burned the wagons and proceeded on foot seeking a trail
westward out of the Valley.
The long history started of prospecting and mining in the Valley. Few of the
dreams of the prospectors came true, yet there was some spectacular
exceptions, and in these lie many an interesting Death Valley story.
Best known of all the prospectors was Death Valley Scotty, a colorful
personality whose tales and exploits helped to publicize the Valley. Another
short side trip to today's Visitors Center takes you to the old Harmony Borax
Works from which, in the 1880's, famous 20 mule team borax trains hauled
their loads (up to 46,000 pounds at a time) grueling 165 miles to the railroad in
Mojave. Still standing among the crumbling adobe walls is the old broiler and
some of the vats. This was the first successful borax works in the history of
borax mining in Death Valley. Despite the existence of more deposits in the
area, Harmony Borax was closed in 1890 when the operation was transferred
to Daggett in the Calico Mountains, which was closer to rail transportation. In
1933, a presidential proclamation set aside a reservation of 2,980 sq. miles of
desert land as a National Monument, thereby assuring its continued use for
public enjoyment.
