From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert located in the southwestern United States. It is the lowest, dryest, and hottest location in North America.[1] Badwater, a basin located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 85.5 m (282 ft) below sea level. This point is only 76 miles (123 km) east of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably reported temperature in the Western hemisphere, 134°F (56.7°C) at Furnace Creek in 1913—just short of the world record, which was 136°F (58°C) in Al ’Aziziyah, Libya, on September 13, 1922. Located on the border between California and Nevada, southeast of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert, Death Valley constitutes much of Death Valley National Park and is the principal feature of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve. It is located mostly in Inyo County, California. It runs from north to south between the Amargosa Range on the east and the Panamint Range on the west; the Sylvania Mountains and the Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern boundaries, respectively. It has an area of about 3,000 sq mi (7,800 km2).[2] Death Valley shares many characteristics with other places around the world that lie below sea level.
Death Valley Valley Fault. Furnace Creek and the Amargosa River flow through the valley but eventually disappear into the sands of the valley floor. Death Valley also contains salt pans. According to current geological consensus, during the middle of the Pleistocene era there was a succession of inland seas (collectively referred to as Lake Manly) located where Death Valley is today. As the area turned to desert the water evaporated, leaving behind the abundance of evaporitic salts such as common sodium salts and borax, which were subsequently exploited during the modern history of the region, primarily 1883 to 1907.[3] As a general rule, lower altitudes tend to have higher temperatures because the sun heats the ground and that heat is then radiated upward, but as the air begins to rise it is trapped by (1) the surrounding elevation and (2) the weight of the air (essentially the
Death Valley Dunes
Geography
Death Valley is one of the best geological examples of a basin and range configuration. It lies at the southern end of a geological trough known as Walker Lane, which runs north into Oregon. The valley is bisected by a right lateral strike slip fault system, represented by the Death Valley Fault and the Furnace Creek Fault. The eastern end of the left lateral Garlock Fault intersects the Death
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Death Valley
During very wet periods, such as the winter of 1995, the Amargosa River can flow at the surface, even forming a temporary lake at Badwater. Landsat 7 imagery of Death Valley atmospheric pressure) above it. The atmospheric pressure is higher at very low altitudes than it is under the same conditions at sea level because there is more air (more distance) between the ground and the top of the atmosphere. This pressure traps the heat near the ground, and also creates wind currents that circulate very hot air, thereby distributing the heat to all areas, regardless of shade and other factors.[4] This process is especially important in Death Valley because of its specific climate and geography. Because the atmosphere is so dry and the ground is largely flat and unobstructed by plants, a high percentage of the sun’s heat is able to reach the ground and be absorbed by the soil and rocks. When the hot air begins to rise it is trapped not only by atmospheric pressure and gently rising elevation, but also by high mountain ranges on all sides, and the hot wind currents are also trapped by the mountains so that they stay mostly within the valley.[5] Death Valley holds temperature records because it has an unusually high number of factors that lead to high atmospheric temperatures. average temperature is in July at 117°F (47°C), with temperatures of 122°F (50°C) or higher being very common. The highest temperature ever recorded in the United States, according to National Weather Service records, was 134°F (56.7°C) at Furnace Creek (then known as Greenland Ranch) during a sandstorm on July 10, 1913.[6] Freezing temperatures, on the other hand, occur an average of 11.7 days each year. The lowest temperature on record at Furnace Creek Inn is 15°F (-9°C), but nighttime temperatures in summer may only fall to 85°F to 95°F (30°C to 35°C). The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley (Furnace Creek) was 134°F (57°C) on July 10, 1913, also that same year saw Death Valley’s coldest temperature, on January 8 the temperature dropped to 15°F (-10°C) at Furnace Creek. During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached 129° F (54°C) or above. Death Valley held the record for the hottest place on earth until 1922. The greatest number of consecutive days with a maximum temperature of 100° F or above was 154 days in the summer of 2001. The summer of 1996 had 40 days over 120° F, and 105 days over 110° F. The summer of 1917 had 43 consecutive days with a high temperature of 120° F or above. Parts of the valley receive less than 2 in (51 mm) of rain annually. At Furnace Creek Inn, average annual precipitation is 2.33 in (59 mm) and an average of 18.1 days per year have measurable precipitation. The greatest monthly precipitation on record was 2.59 in (66 mm)in January 1995; the one-day
Climate
Temperatures in the Valley can range from highs around 130°F (54°C) in the summer to lows below 32°F (0°C) in the winter. The National Climatic Data Center reports that temperatures at Furnace Creek reach at least 90°F (32°C) on an average of 189.3 days annually and at least 100°F (38°C) on an average of 138.0 days annually. The highest
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record is 1.47 in (37 mm) of precipitation, which fell on April 15, 1988. The average evaporation rate in the bottom of Death Valley is 150 in (3,800 mm) per year. In the winter, precipitation approaching Death Valley is usually released onto the slopes to its west, causing a rain shadow. The four major mountain ranges to the west of Death Valley contribute to this effect.[4] Although Death Valley gets very little rain, it is prone to flooding during heavy rains because the soil is unable to absorb the water quickly. The runoff can produce dangerous flash floods. In August 2004, such flooding caused two deaths and caused the national park to close. On rare occasions, light snow has fallen on the valley floor.[7] The most recent snow flurries at Furnace Creek Inn were on January 5, 1974.
Death Valley
times its average annual rainfall of 1.5 inches. As it has done before for hundreds of years, the lowest spot in the valley filled with a wide, shallow lake, but the extreme heat and aridity immediately began sucking the ephemeral lake dry. This pair of images from NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite documents the short history of Death Valley’s Lake Badwater: formed in February 2005 (top) and long gone by February 2007 (bottom). In 2005, a big pool of greenish water stretched most of the way across the valley floor. By May of 2005 the valley floor had resumed its more familiar role as Badwater, a salt-coated playa. In time, this freshly dissolved and recrystallized salt will darken. The western margin of Death Valley is traced by alluvial fans. During flash floods, rainfall from the steep mountains to the west pours through narrow canyons, picking up everything from fine clay to large rocks. When these torrents reach the mouths of the canyons, they widen and slow, branching out into braided streams. The paler the fans, the younger they are. During the Pleistocene ice age, which ended roughly 10,000-12,000 years ago, the Sierra Nevada ranges were much wetter. During that time, Death Valley was filled with a huge lake, called Glacial Lake Manly, that was nearly 100 miles long and 600 feet deep.[8]
Lake Badwater and Glacial Lake Manly
History
Lake Badwater, February 9, 2005. Landsat 5 satellite photo.
Greater Roadrunner at Death Valley National Park Visitor Center, California Badwater dry lake, February 15, 2007. Landsat 5 satellite photo. In 2005, Death Valley —- the lowest, driest, hottest place in North America -— received 4 Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe of Native Americans, formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past 1000 years. The Timbisha name for the valley, tümpisa,
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• Emigrant Ranger Station • Mushroom Rock • Father Crowley Viewpoint • Ryan Widow • Russell Camp • Furnace Creek Campground • Furnace Creek Golf Course • Furnace Creek Inn • Furnace Creek Ranch
Death Valley
• Wildrose Ranger Station • Grapevine Ranger Station • West Side Borax Camp • Harmony Borax Works • Hells Gate • Hog Ranch • Lower Noonday Camp • Upper Noonday Camp
Zabriskie Point at sunrise in Death Valley.
Popular culture
• Death Valley Days was a radio drama that ran from 1930 until 1945, and then had 558 television episodes between 1952 and 1975. • The final chapters of Frank Norris’s 1899 novel McTeague are set in Death Valley, and the final scenes of its film adaptation, Greed, were shot on location there. • Death Valley is shown in the movies Death Valley, Queen of the Damned (where Lestat’s concert took place), and Zabriskie Point (the location of the film’s famous desert love scene).[9]
Sand dunes in Death Valley means "rock paint" and refers to the red ochre paint that can be made from a type of clay found in the valley. Some families still live in the valley at Furnace Creek. Another village was located in Grapevine Canyon near the present site of Scotty’s Castle. It was called maahunu in the Timbisha language, the meaning of which is uncertain, although it is known that hunu is "canyon". The valley received its English name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush. It was called Death Valley by prospectors and others who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields, even though only one death in the area was recorded during the Rush. During the 1850s, gold and silver were extracted in the valley. In the 1880s, borax was discovered and extracted by mule-drawn wagons. Death Valley National Park was founded on February 11, 1933 by President Hoover.
See also
Sometimes after winter rains, Death Valley does not look like a desert for a few weeks. • • • • • Places of interest in the Death Valley area Death Valley National Park Geology of the Death Valley area Death Valley pupfish Racetrack Playa
Notable locations
• Myers Ranch • Wilson Ranch
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• Sailing stones
Death Valley
[7] Ben Jones (19 February 2006). "Death Valley snow". Webshots. http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/ 547803991ElkJzI. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [8] "Image of the Day: Lake Badwater, Death Valley". Earth Observing System. NASA. 18 March 2009. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/ view.php?id=37536&src=eoa. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [9] Lingenfelter, Richard E. (1987). Proceedings: First Death Valley Conference on History & Prehistory. Death Valley: s.n.. OCLC 18031846.
References
[1] "Death Valley National Park". DesertUSA. 2009. http://www.desertusa.com/dv/ du_dvpmain.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [2] Wright, John W. (ed.); Editors and reporters of The New York Times (2006). The New York Times Almanac (2007 ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 456. ISBN 0-14-303820-6. [3] Celeste Cosby; Jeanette Hawkins; Jani Kushla; Molly Robinson (2009). "Boron Minerals of Death Valley". Clark Science Center, Smith College. http://www.science.smith.edu/ departments/Geology/dv/Boron/ home.html#History. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [4] ^ "Weather and Climate Death Valley National Park". U.S. National Park Service. July 2007. http://www.nps.gov/ deva/planyourvisit/upload/ Weather%20and%20Climate.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [5] "Death Valley National Park - Weather and Climate". U.S. National Park Service. 23 May 2008. http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/ weather-and-climate.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-16. [6] U.S. Geological Survey (13 January 2004). "Death Valley’s Incredible Weather". U.S. Department of the Interior. http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/ parks/deva/weather.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
Further reading
• Lingenfelter, Richard E.; Dwyer, Richard A. (1988). Death Valley Lore, Classic Tales of Fantasy, Adventure and Mystery. Reno: University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0874171369.
External links
• Death Valley travel guide from Wikitravel • Death Valley National Park - U.S. National Park Service • Death Valley on the PBS show Nature • UNESCO Biosphere Preserve: Mojave and Colorado Deserts • Strange moving rocks of the valley • Death Valley Area Plants at blackturtle.us • Death Valley Weather • Death Valley and surrounding area sites GPS coordinates Coordinates: 36°08′41″N 116°29′24″W / 36.1448°N 116.4901°W / 36.1448; -116.4901
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley" Categories: Death Valley, Extreme points of Earth, Dry areas below sea level, Great Basin, Rift valleys, Southern California, Regions of California, San Bernardino County, California, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, Lowest points of U.S. states This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 17:21 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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