Badwater Spring and fault Photo by Marli Miller.

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.

One of the Many uses of borax.. Photo from NPS archives. This picture is from a commertial for Borateen, a laundry detergent. The actor in the commercial is ex-president Ronald Reagan.

Death Valley is generally sunny, dry, and clear throughout the year. The winters, November through March, are mild with occasional winter storms, but summers are extremely hot and dry. Summer high temperatures commonly run above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Comfortable clothing providing sun protection and a broad brimmed hat are recommended in summer.    Photo by Kunze, from NPS archives.Death Valley National Park in 1906.

A Desert Legend is Born... Mr. Johnson and Scotty

Some say  Death Valley Scotty paid for the Castle with gold from his secret mine. Others say his partner Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson built 1939 

He worked numerous jobs in the area, including a few in Death Valley, a place he loved immediately and which would someday become his home. In 1890, a talent scout for Buffalo Bill Cody discovered Scotty and hired him to work as a cowboy with the Wild West show.

After traveling the world with the Wild West for twelve years, Scotty began a new profession that brought him even more fame and riches - gold prospecting. He convinced several wealthy businessmen that he had claim to a gold mine worth a fortune in Death Valley. Scotty agreed to split the profits, provided they first offer enough money to extract the ore.

Scotty apparently had little luck while prospecting in Death Valley over the next few years. However the desert dweller often turned up at the finest hotels and saloons of California and Nevada, and began what would become his legendary spending sprees.

Johnson Becomes a Partner

Convinced to invest in the mine, Mr. Johnson gave thousands of dollars to Scotty over the next several years. Unfortunately, at least according to Scotty, a number of calamities prevented delivery of the gold. Undaunted, Mr. Johnson finally decided to take a look at the gold mine on a personal tour of Death Valley.

Scotty remained cool. Using his Grapevine Canyon home as base camp, Scotty took Mr. Johnson on a grueling trek by horseback through Death Valley. He figured a few days in the desert would be too much for Johnson, whose health had suffered permanently following a near-fatal train wreck in his youth.

Surprisingly, Johnson loved Death Valley so much that he stayed nearly a month, and his health improved dramatically in the dry, sunny climate.

Although he never saw Scotty's mine, Mr. Johnson did not seem to mind. He had found riches in the desert far greater than ones that glitter. Besides, he had taken a liking to the eccentric desert rat. The two men began a lifelong friendship that would change the history of Death Valley forever.

Charcoal Kilns

Big Horn Sheep Petroglyiph, NPS photo

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Rainfall in Death Valley averages less than 2 inches a year. There have been some years of no recorded rainfall at all! And yet when 10 millimetres of rain fell in the valley it experienced its worst floods in two decades. Most roads were cut, cars were swept away and two people were killed

 Parts of Star Wars and Return of the Jedi were filmed here .

One of the four areas where there are sand dunes, Stovepipe Wells

Record Heat July of 1913, Death Valley recorded five consecutive days of 129 degrees or above. On July the 10th, a reading of 134 degrees Fahrenheit was taken. This world record was held for nine years.

Death Valley is generally sunny, dry, and clear throughout the year. The winters, November through March, are mild with occasional winter storms, but summers are extremely hot and dry. Summer high temperatures commonly run above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Comfortable clothing providing sun protection and a broad brimmed hat are recommended in summer.

Death Valley contained a recorded 37 reptile species, six amphibians, 58 mammals, 347 birds and more than 1000 plant species. There was even a fish - the tiny pupfish - and snails.

The major resorts, restaurants, the golf course and ordered lines of date palms.

  Crowley Point 

 

 Survival mechanism. Death Valley's sidewinder rattlesnakes never drink, eating instead the juiciest of small creatures, including kangaroo rats, which also drink nothing, their bodies metabolising the water they need from the dry seeds they eat.

The most evident adaptation was that of the coyote, which had clearly decided there was an easier life to be had scrounging for human food. They wandered the roads as if they were built for them, resting up in the valley's small settlements.

  Devil's Golf Course, its jagged,

Faulted cinder cone Photo by Marli Miller. crystallised salt  pillars looking like a reef exposed at low tide, and headed on to Death Valley's greatest statistical claim: at 86 metres below sea level,

Badwater is the lowest point in the western hemisphere. High on the cliff behind, a sign marked an improbable sea level.Named by a surveyor who couldn't get his mule to drink from an aquifer here.

 Telescope Peak,3300-metre-high and immediately behind were the depths of Badwater, the elevation drop between the two being about twice that of the Grand Canyon.

 Death Valley's commercial side, visit http://www.deathvalley.com (operated by one of the resorts); for its natural features, visit the national park website at www.nps.gov/deva.

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Places to see around the area of interest:

A scenic drive to Death Valley National Park is amazing any time of the year, but weather conditions are often ideal for a road trip in the winter and spring, when the valley temperatures at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center range from the middle 60s to the low 80s. Summertime temperatures can easily exceed 115 degrees and require more careful planning to fully enjoy the wonders that this park offers.

Although several days would be required to see all parts of the park, we decided to undertake a one-day road trip starting in Las Vegas. Leaving the Las Vegas Strip, we drove south on Interstate 15 to Blue Diamond Road and turned west to begin our approach over the Spring Mountains. This section of the drive is known to locals as "crossing the hump to Pahrump." As we drove past the town of Blue Diamond, the eye-catching color of Red Rock Canyon was visible in the distance on the right side of the highway. We looked for some of the wild burros and horses that we have seen on past trips to this area. Despite the recent drought, we saw spring wildflowers beginning to appear as we reached the top of the pass and descended into the Pahrump Valley.

The self-styled "oldest" (which is amusing, since it is also the only) winery in Nevada is located in the town of Pahrump. After a short tour and a taste of the winery's red, white, and sherry, we followed the locals' route to the national park. The road signs don't mention Death Valley, even though this is most direct route. Off to the northwest, we could see Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The spring-fed riparian environment is home to the second largest endemic population of animals, fish and plants in North America. The reserve is also home to 24 species of plants and animals that are only found here. On past trips, we have seen some of the very rare Devil's Hole Pupfish.

Death Valley Junction was the next point of interest. A company town originally built in 1923 by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, the crossroads of California highways 127 and 190 doesn't rate a post office any more, but it has something far more entertaining. Marta Becket and Thomas Willett have been delighting locals and tourists at the "world famous" Amargosa Opera House since 1968 with their unique blend of dance and humor. They perform most evenings during the cooler months. Turning west from Death Valley Junction, we entered one of our favorite national parks, Death Valley.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/united-states/some-like-it-hot/2005/05/19/1116361671239.html

Death Valley National Park
P.O. Box 579
Death Valley, California 92328

E-mail Us

Phone

Visitor Information
(760) 786-3200

Commercial Permits
(760) 786-3241

Fax

(760) 786-3283

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