Death Valley is one of
the most famous places in the world. It has earned its name as well a
unique place in history because of the extremes that are found here. Today
we are drawn here because of the extremes in beauty that we see in its
desolation and heat.
In the past, Death Valley was known as a place to avoid because this was not only a desert, it was the worst desert to
attempt to navigate in any way. Before beauty and the exotic extremes
brought people to this place, mining made Death Valley an economic resource.
|
Zabriskie
Point
|
The Death Valley that we know today was not always like this. In terms of
geologic time, it was only moments ago that Death Valley was a lush and
inviting place. Death Valley is a place of change. The high active
mountain building in the region created the place we call Death Valley
only in the last 5.3 million years. As the Sierra Nevada Mountains rose
slowly in the Pliocene, a rain shadow desert appeared.
As the Pleistocene Era began, a huge lake, Lake Manly filled the valley to
a depth of 600 feet. As we get closer to modern times, the lakes which
occupied this valley became increasingly shallower. As the Ice Age
retreated, so did the water. Today, Death Valley is the driest and hottest
place in North America.
|
|
|
Random Facts:
* Badwater
is 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the Western
Hemisphere.
* The hottest temperatutre ever ecorded in the US was near Death Valleyat
the Greenland Ranch on July 10, 1913.
* The valley was actually covered with a lake in the last ice age, Lake
Manly, when the region was cooler and wetter.
* Rainfall, lass than 2 inches per year.
|
|
|