In the shadow of the Sierra Nevada
Death Valley National Park is located California – USA. Every year up to 850,000 visitors come to the desert-like protected area in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada. The area of the national park is 13,625 km².
Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, with the Amargosa Range in the background
According to acronymmonster.com, Death Valley was first declared a United States National Monument in 1933. Death Valley only became a national park in the USA in 1994. The ” Valley of Death ” has a length of approx. 200 kilometers and is up to 20 kilometers wide.
Death Valley – wet above, dry below
In the sanctuary you will find sand dunes, but also snow-capped mountain peaks, multicolored rock faces and water. The air itself in Death Valley National Park is exceptionally clean. Very often the air shimmers from the pent-up heat in Death Valley. Half of the year Death Valley is a veritable furnace. It sometimes rains over the mountains, but the valley itself never actually gets rain.
Sights in Death Valley
- Aguereberry Point
- Amargosa Opera House
- Artist’s Drive
- Artist’s Palette
- Badwater
- Barker ranch
- Charcoal Kilns
- Dante’s View
- Darwin Falls
- Devil’s Golf Course
- Devil’s Speedway
- Eureka Dunes
- Father Crowley Vista Point
- Furnace Creek Visitor Center
- Golden Canyon
- Harmony Borax Works
- Mosaic Canyon
- Natural Bridge Canyon
- Panamint Mountains
- Salt Creek
- Scotty’s Castle
- Stovepipe Wells Village
- Telescope Peak Trail
- The Race Track
- Titus Canyon
- Twenty Mule Team Canyon
- Fix Crater
- Zabriskie Point
Wide, hot and lonely land
Death Valley National Park’s Conservation Area includes the Funeral Mountains, Hell’s Gate, Sarg Peak, Hunger Canyon and Dead Man Pass. The name already suggests that Death Valley must be a hostile area for humans.
Wandering Stones in Death Valley
Death Valley National Park has beautiful canyons and even dunes to offer. The wildlife of the national park is also amazing. Many of the animals and plants have adapted to the extreme climatic situations.
Flora and fauna in Death Valley National Park
Despite these extreme conditions, around 900 different plants that have adapted to the climate, to extreme weather conditions, grow in the vicinity of the park. The wildlife in Death Valley National Park is mostly nocturnal due to the daytime heat.
When the sun goes down in Death Valley, life awakens. The big horn sheep live in the somewhat higher areas of the valley. There is also more rain at higher elevations; hence forests of mountain mahogany, pine and juniper could develop there.
Sights in the national park
North of Badwater, a path leads to Devil’s Golfcourse. From Dante’s View you can see the lowest part of the western globe. The Badwater area of Death Valley National Park is 86 meters below sea level. In the northern part of the national park is the Ubehebe Crater, which has a diameter of 722 meters.
Artist’s Palette – Black Mountains in Death Valley National Park
The crater was formed about 1,000 years ago by a volcanic eruption. Scotty’s Castle is a famous vacation home in Grapevine Canyon. Wildrose Canyon is located west of Death Valley National Park. There, charcoal was made from the juniper wood more than 100 years ago. Some of the ovens are still there today.
Follow the rules!
Wild camping is not allowed in Death Valley National Park. When camping, you must bring combustible material with you for grilling, as no wood may be taken in the national park. When in Death Valley, it is recommended that you drink at least four liters of water every day. Anyone visiting Death Valley National Park by car should check their vehicle beforehand to make sure everything is in order. Breaking down in Death Valley can mean death.
Borax Harmony
About two kilometers north of Furnace Creek Campground are the ruins of the Harmony Works. The plant was built in 1883 to extract borax. Borax is used for glazes on glass, porcelain, ceramics and earthenware. In addition, a small railroad line was laid through Death Valley to transport the borax. However, this railway line and the rails have long since ceased to exist. The Golden Canyon is located about 5 kilometers south of Furnace Creek. Mosaic Creek is easily accessible from Stovepipe Wells; east of the village there are sand dunes to discover.
Historic conveyance wagons at the Borax Museum – Furnace Creek Ranch
Camping in Death Valley
There are ten campgrounds available in Death Valley National Park, four of which are open year-round (Mesquite Springs, Wildrose, Furnace Creek, and Panamint Spring). There are four hotels just outside the national park.
Failed to settle in Death Valley
In the national park there are relics from the time when America was settled by white settlers, such as former small mines and abandoned ghost villages. The Shoshone Native Americans used to live in parts of Death Valley National Park. In principle, however, the Native Americans avoided Death Valley because of the hostile conditions.
