Death Valley is the hottest place on the earth situated along the California-Nevada Border covering the space of almost 3.4 million acres. This place has tremendous spots that are worth seeing. Even a person forgets the scorching temperature because of the charismatic beauty of nature here.
There are many amazing things related to Death Valley. It might look dull and depressing when you first see it. However, after looking into it further, the excellence of this place starts to uncover. There are 300 people that are residents of Death Valley. I recommend visiting here once in your lifetime or surely the interesting facts about Death Valley will motivate you to design an outing there.
So, without further ado, let’s explore all the facts about Death Valley that you must know:
12 Facts About Death Valley
- The largest park in the Continental US
- The Driest land
- Hottest Area on Earth
- Highest and the lowest points
- A deadly land
- Variety of mammals
- Tallest Sand Dunes
- Presence of Wildflowers
- Wandering Rocks
- Land of miners
- The Giant UBEHEBE Crater
- The Best sunrises
1. The largest park in the Continental US
The area of Death Valley constitutes 3.4 million acres that are the biggest spot in the Continental US. Alaska is also a land of National Parks that are bigger, like Denali, and Wrangell-St. Elias and Gates of the Arctic. According to the resources, this place is one of the parts of the MohaveDesert and there are five arrangements of dunes, two mountain ranges, one XL well of lava hole, and the other one is XXL salt bowl.
2. The Driest Land
Death Valley is known to be drier than the Sahara Desert as it has only 1.5″ of normal rainfall a year, contrasted with a normal of 3.9″ of rainfall in the Sahara. This happens on the grounds that the high Panamint and Sierra mountain ranges loom over an extremely low valley floor, making a downpour shadow.
Yet, even though Death Valley doesn’t get a great deal of downpour, it doesn’t imply that it’s totally dry. It has more than 600 springs and lakes, including Salt Creek which houses some ancient pupfish, and the Furnace Creek camping area.
3. Hottest area on Earth
Death Valley is considered the hottest in the Americas and other places like the Taklimakan Desert in Western China (122’F-154’F) and the Lut Desert in Iran (which once finished out at 158’F). Normal summer temperatures for Death Valley routinely hit 115’F. Going there in the mid-year is a horrible thought, I recommend visiting here when the climate is somehow moderate.
4. The Highest and Lowest Points
Mount Whitney which is near the Death valley finishes out at 14,505 feet in height, making it the second most elevated spot in the US after Alaska’s Denali (20,310). The Badwater Basin is the absolute bottom in the entirety of the US, sitting at 282 feet underneath ocean level. On the off chance that you go to Dantes View, you can get a broad perspective of the Badwater Basin and furthermore see the Sierra Nevadas somewhere out there, which highlights the closeness among them that is just 132 miles.
5. A Deadly Land
There were many stories regarding the death valley and how it has taken the life of pioneers and animals. According to historians when the gold mines were discovered in California many people moved to this land to try their luck.
These people want to change their lives, and some of them took the shortcut that passes through this deadly land. They lost their way and because of starvation and lack of water, many of them lost their lives. They are known as The Lost 49ers because they started their journey in 1849.
6. Variety of Mammals
Most people might think that this land is not occupied by any living organisms because of the harsh and severe weather conditions in the Death Valley but unfortunately, you are wrong. Be that as it may, there are 52 kinds of warm-blooded animals living on this incorporating more of this piece of land, modest species like squirrels, bats, chipmunks, mice, rodents, gophers, bunnies, and foxes.
In any case, there are considerably bigger carnivores, for example, coyotes, catamounts, and mountain lions. There are likewise hoofed monsters like the burro, wild ponies, donkey deer, and bighorn sheep.
7. Tallest Sand Dunes
There are a total of 4 dunes in the Death Valley that including
- Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
- Saline Valley Dunes
- Panamint Dunes
- Ibex Dunes
Although there are only 1% of the total sand dunes in the desert, the sight is captivating. You can do sandboarding on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes and can enjoy many activities there.
The height of these sand dunes is 680 feet which is the tallest and they are 3 miles long and have 1 mile of width.
8. Presence of Wildflowers
Though this Death Valley doesn’t receive much rainfall yet that doesn’t prevent strong wildflowers from blossoming in the valley.
In springtime, in any case, fruitless floors of the valley get populated with vivid wildflowers. The place is generally known for its super sprouts. It happens just when there are critical rainstorms in fall and winter. The last two super sprouts were in the years 2005 and 2016.
You can see these wildflowers on Badwater Road, Green Valley Road, and Zabriskie Point. They look really amazing and joyful.
9. Wandering Rocks
In case you are charmed by finding such countless unbelievable realities about Death Valley National Park, let me tell you more.
There is a spot, Racetrack Playa, a level dry lakebed situated in Death Valley, that displays perhaps the most strange regular wonders on earth.
It is witnessed that rocks of varying sizes mysteriously continue to move to abandon the apparent path. Many of the rocks are huge, weighing as much as 700 pounds.
The secret of sliding rocks was ultimately disentangled by analysts in 2013. Significant precipitation followed by cool winter evenings prompts the development of ice sheets.
At the point when it’s daytime, the ice dissolves and makes enormous drifting boards. Driven by wind, these ice boards push the stones forward making meandering rocks fantasy.
Racetrack playa lies in a distant area of the valley, around 83 miles from Furnace Creek.
10. Land of Miners
Mineral-rich Death Valley tricked miners and excavators for over a century. The minerals separated in the valley included gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tungsten, borax, powder, and sulfur.
The last dynamic mine, Billie Mine gasping for air up its tasks in 2005. As you investigate the valley you might coincidentally find a few deserted mining locales.
11. The Giant UBEHEBE Crater
The Giant UBEHEBE Crater is the most amazing and breath-taking sight one has ever seen in his life. This crater has its own history and significance.
According to some historians, this crater is created some 2100 years ago due to a volcanic explosion. This crater has a depth of 6ft and a width of 0.5 miles which is huge. This place is 56 miles away from Furnace Creek. There is much more to explore for the hikers.
12. The Best Sunrises
Getting up before sunrise is hard, particularly with the awful in-room espresso that they serve at Stovepipe Wells. In any case, do it, since it’s great. The Mesquite Dunes and Zabriskie Point are both extraordinary at sunrise. Get to Mesquite Dunes around 30 minutes before sunrise with the goal that you have the opportunity to venture into the sand. Stay at Zabriskie Point for around 30 minutes after sunrise, because the rising light makes cool shadows and shapes on the collapsed mountain landscape.
Death Valley Facts about Animals
Death Valley National Park is a house of many animals and birds despite the severe conditions here. According to the Death Valley Wildlife resources, you can find 56 species of mammals, 36 species of reptiles, 5 amphibians, 6 fish, and 400 species of birds. That is something amazing. Other facts about the Animals are listed below:
- Bighorn Sheeps are the largest animals found in Death Valley, you can see them on the mountain slopes moving here and there
- KitFox are the canines found on the lower elevations. These foxes are of the size of cats having long ears and tails.
- Coyotes are very common in the Death Valley
- Pup-fish are found in the springs and some creeks in Death Valley, an endangered species of puffer-fish called Devil puff-fish can also be seen here
- Death valley is occupied by the largest lizards that hide under the rocks.
These animals have adapted themselves according to the Death Valley environmental conditions. They drink less or almost no water in their whole life. They reserve water in their bodies.
Death Valley Facts about Kids
Death valley is an amusing place for kids where every kid wants to go. There are some amazing facts that you can tell kids about the place. They will surely enjoy them.
- Death Valley is the hottest and driest place on the earth
- Only 300 people live in the death valley
- Death Valley’s UBEHEBE Crater is surely fascinating for the kids. It is created some 2100 years ago due to a volcanic explosion.
- Bighorn sheep are the largest animals in the death valley
- Death valley has a record of the highest temperature which is 134F
- There are many highest and lowest points in Death Valley, and Badwater Basin is 282 feet below the ocean level
- The endangered species of puffer-fish also live here
Conclusion
Death valley was given the morbid name because it has taken the life of many people. Some pioneers went there in search of gold and never returned back. This place has its own risks. We recommend if you want to go there in summer, take plenty of water with you, a lot of food, extra fuel and don’t go far away from your vehicle.
The Vastness of this land makes people forget their path. As there were no signals so take a paper map with you. This place though has its risks but it fascinates its visitors.
Hopefully, all these amazing facts quill help you in planning a better trip to this place.
