Do you get frightened by the name-Death valley? Don’t be, as there are many more places with far scarier names in this valley which will give you real thrill. It is three million acres of barren land about 400 km north east of Los Angeles in the State of California.
The Death Valley is located between Amargosa and Panamint Ranges at east and west and The Owl’s Head Mountain and The Sylvania in the north and south respectively.
Hemmed by nine mountain ranges, Death Valley is cut off from rejuvenating rainfall and cooling Pacific winds, making it one of the driest and hottest places in the world.
Funeral Mountain, Coffin peaks, Hell’s Gate, Starvation Canyon, Dead Man’s Pass, Devil’s Hole, Furnace Creak, Bad Water Basin are all place names of the strange horrible places in the Death Valley.
Funeral Mountain: It is a short and arid range that forms the eastern border of the Death Valley National Park.
Bad Water: It is the lowest point in North America, the water is extremely salty and is not edible but many animals and plants such as pickle weed, aquatic insects, the Bad water snake live in it.
Devil’s Hole: It is a flooded cave with sheer sided ridges of about 10 meters deep in the north east corner of the Ash meadows. In the Ash meadows the Devil’s Hole Pupfish - a unique fish of about 2.7 cm in length lives. An inhabitant of this area since 60,000 years in this sizzling pool filled with algae! Its numbers are fast depleting and such a variety of fish is not found elsewhere in the world.
Scotty’s Castle is an enormous fantasy palace built by Albert Mussy Johnson a Millionaire from Chicago in his Death Valley ranch, who allowed his mining partner Scotty to live in it as a guest and thus the castle got the name Scotty’s Castle.
Furnace Creek: It is mainly rocky and in the hot sun the rocks get red hot, this point in Death Valley has the credit of the highest level of ground temperature (201 degree Fahrenheit).
Macho Valley: The names Death Valley, devil’s hole, dead-man’s pass, starvation canyon are an asset to this locality.
Death Valley is a land of extreme, diversity, wonderment, and history and offers something for everyone: golfers, backpackers, mountain bikers, hikers, nature lovers and photographers.
Driving tours and hiking trails are an excellent way to experience the peculiar world of Death Valley.
Entrance fees:
Vehicles: $20.00 for 7 days. This permit allows all persons traveling with the permit holder in one single private, non-commercial vehicle (car/truck/van) to leave and re-enter the park as many times as they wish during the 7-day period from the date of purchase.
Individual: $10.00 for 7 days. This allows a single individual traveling on foot, motorcycle or bicycle to leave and re-enter the park as many times as they wish during the 7-day period from the date of purchase. If the motorcycle or bicycle has more than one rider, each rider is charged the $10.00 fee.
The rich history of Death Valley mixed with the diverse landscapes and natural phenomenon of the park make it a truly unique destination.
Source: Spluch
