Death Valley is a desert located along the California and Nevada border, southeast of the Sierra Nevada. Most of the desert is a national park covering 3.3 million acres of extreme landscapes. There are sand dunes, snow-capped mountain peaks, canyons and unrelenting heat.
In California, Death Valley is located in the southeastern part of the state. California Highway 190 runs through Death Valley from east to west.
Death Valley National Park is positioned between the Inyo National Forest in California and the Amargosa Desert in Nevada.
Badwater, Calif., located in Death Valley, is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. At the other Death Valley extreme, Telescope Peak, also in California, reaches 11,049 feet.
Death Valley was aptly named by gold miners who crossed the desert during the California gold rush in 1849. Some fell victim to the harsh conditions.
Death Valley is one of the hottest places on Earth. In 1913, temperatures reached 134 degrees, the second highest temperature on record. (Al 'Aziziyah, Libya, recorded a temperature of 136 degrees in 1922.)
