B-DEATH+VALLEY


 * [[image:deathvalleypic.gif]]Death Valley[[image:picture_23152345134.jpg width="179" height="129"]]Established February 11, 1933**

__**[|Location:]**__ This national park is located in southwestern california as the picture shows, in between the amargosa Desert in nevada and the inyo National Forest. The nearest city is [|Shoshone] in California. Its about 90 miles from Las Vegas, NV; The park is transected from east to west by California Highway 190. Highway 95 in Nevada parallels the park from north to south with connecting highways at [|Scotty's Junction], [|Beatty], and [|Lathrop wells] [|Climate/Weather Conditions:] Death Valley is generally sunny, dry, and clear all year, the winters are mild with occasional snow storms, but summers are extremely hot, with temperatures normaly around 120 [|fahrenheit]. Park Size: Death Valley is almost 3000 square miles larger than Yellowstone National-Park, a total of 3,340,410 acres. Visitors: This national park has over 8 million visitors per year.
 * media type="custom" key="5355145" width="204" height="129"Titus Canyon:** An unimproved road into Death Valley that begins just west of Beatty (the road to Titus canyon heads north from the normal paved route from Beatty into Death Valley). Titus canyon is narrow, deep and spectacular. Due to narrowness, parts of this road are one-way, so you really need to start from the east end of the road
 * Dante's View:** Spectacular view from an overlook just a mile or two away from Badwater, but 4000 feet taller. The road to Dante's View is a bit long, but the view is worth it. If you are towing a trailer, a parking lot is provided for you to leave your trailer behind before ascending the most difficult part of the road to Dante's View.
 * [|Devil's Golf Course:]** A bizarre landscape consisting of a vast field of salt crystals. You should only sight see around them, A slight touch can break the crystals, which often take years to re-form.

[|History:] This park was established in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover hoever it was not yet a national park, and in 1994 it was renamed as a national park. 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, although 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.Twelve companies worked in Death Valley using [|Civilian Conservation Corps] workers during the [|Great Depression] and on into the early 1940s. They built barracks, graded 500 miles (800 km) of roads, installed water and telephone lines, and erected a total of 76 buildings.Trails in the Panamint Range were built to points of scenic interest. Mining was a big thing in this area and interferred with the landscape with all the tearing at the rock and diggin in the soil.The public outcry that ensued led to greater protection for all national park and monument areas in the United States.In 1976 Congress passed the [|Mining in the Parks Act], which closed Death Valley National Monument to the filing of new mining claims, banned open-pit mining and required the [|National Park Service] to examine the validity of tens of thousands of pre-1976 mining claims. There were said to be many [|Native american] tribes that used the land before the rush, and there still are natives living there.

Environmental issues: The park has a diverse and complex geologic history. The area that comprises the park has experienced at least four major periods of extensive [|volcanism], three or four periods of major [|sedimentation], and several intervals of major [|tectonic] deformation where the crust has been reshaped. It has also indurred many [|ice ages] along its long life. The saltpan there a lack of vegetation, and the rest of the valley floor have little cover, although where water is available, an abundance of vegetation is usually present. These zones and the adjacent desert support a variety of wildlife [|species], 51 species of native [|mammals], 307 species of [|birds], 36 species of [|reptiles], 3 species of [|amphibians], and 2 species of [|fish]. Death Valley is one of the hottest and driest places in North America, and it is home to over 1,000 species of [|plants]; 23 are not found anywhere else. For example, creosote bush and mesquite have tap-[|root] systems that can extend 50 feet down in order to take advantage of a year-round supply of [|ground water].

Recreational activities: Sightseeing is available by personal automobile, Riding through the park on motorcycle is also popular, wilderness hiking, camping, and historical sites. Death Valley National Park is also a popular location for stargazing as it has one of the darkest night skies in the United States. Despite Death Valley's remote location, its air quality and night visibility are threatened by civilization. In particular, light pollution is introduced by nearby [|Las Vegas].