Death Valley is a long, low depression east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the most eastern part of California at the border to Nevada. From an elevation of about 3000 feet at the north end, the land slopes down steadily and for 70 miles the floor is below sea level, reaching a low point of -282 feet at Badwater, the lowest point in the Western hemisphere. The depth of the depression is partly responsible for the extreme high temperatures, which can exceed 130°F in summer. The National Park itself covers 3 million acres, making it the largest in the US outside Alaska. Nearly 550 square miles are below sea level. The salt pan on the floor of the valley covers more than 200 square miles. It is 40 miles long and more than 5 miles wide.
20 Mule Team Road is a short byway off 190 close to Zabrieski Point that allows you to drive for a short distance through the badlands surrounding Zabrieski Point. The road is named after the 20 mule team borax route that was used to haul borax from the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley to the railhead at Mojave.
Artists Palette, so called for the brilliant colors of its volcanic deposits, is one of the most magnificent sights in Death Valley. The colors are caused by the oxidation of different metals - red, pink and yellow from iron salts, green from mica and purple from manganese.
The badwater basin is the lowest point in Death Valley, actually the lowest in the Western hemisphere (-282 feet). Badwater itself is a small pool of salty water (therefore the name) located just beside the Badwater road on the border of the hughe salt flat that covers most of the southern part of Death Valley.
Dante's View is located on a high peak close to the edge of the Black Mountains, which represent the eastern border of the southern part of Death Valley. The view is pretty much directly above Badwater and offers a perfect outlook over the southern part of the valley.
Devil's Golf Course is an area of salty mud in the southern part of Death Valley, located between Badwater and Furnace Creek. In this area, the usually rather smooth salt flat grows into a bizarre, amazing array of shapes.
Golden Canyon is one of the most beautiful areas of Death Valley. Its a short gorge through brightly colored sandstone rocks close to Furnace Creek. Once there was a road through Golden Canyon but it has been washed away a couple of years ago so you have to hike if you want to visit the area.
Being one of the most popular areas of Death Valley, the dunes are located at the northern end of the valley floor, close to Stovepipe Wells. They are easily accessible directly from the road but it will require a short hike until you reach the real dunes.
Mosaic Canyon is a really nice side canyon located at the west side of Death Valley close to Stovepipe Wells. The entrance to the canyon can be reached via a short unpaved road close to the village, leading to the foothills of Tucki Mountain. The canyon twists through marble-like cliffs mixed with areas of colorful stones (looking like an ancient mosaic), eroded by the floods that occasionally flow through the narrow gorge.
This is one of the side canyons at the east side of Death Valley leading to a large natural bridge after a short hike of about 15 minutes. After the bridge the canyon continues into an area of red rock where it becomes more narrow and some easy climbing is required. The area after the bridge also features some high cliffs with mud streaks looking like a dripping candle - created by muddy water flowing from the top of the cliffs.
What a lovely oasis in the middle of Death Valley. But unfortunately it's all an illusion - the pools and the creek are salty. But some species adapted and survived the transformation of the original lake into a salty environment - for example the pupfish, who is only 2 inch long.
The most scenic part of the canyon is only about 4 miles long, twisting through magnificent cliffs of red rock at the east side of the northern part of Death Valley. But the real experience is to drive through the whole area, using Titus Canyon Road starting a bit outside of Death Valley close to Beatty.
The Ubehebe Crater system contains several volcanic craters, cinder cones and ash hills, all relics from an explosive steam eruption about 2,000 years ago, when rising magma met an underground lake. The top of the crater is nearly a half a mile across and is about 800 feet deep. Several trails lead to all parts of the crater including a rim walk and a hike to the bottom of the crater.
Depending on where you are coming from, this area of Death Valley might be a bit remote and therefore quite a drive, but it's absolutely worth the effort. The first highlight are several restored charcoal kilns and if you continue on, you will be more than rewarded. At the end of the road starts Telescope Peak trail and if you hike for about a mile you have a georgeous view over the southern part of Death Valley as well as Telescope Peak.
Zabriskie Point is an area a few miles from the edge of Death Valley known for its colorful landscape created by erosion. From the viewpoint, the salt flats on the valley floor are visible in the distance.
Directions (from Las Vegas)
Take 160 West until you reach Pahrump. There you need to decide whether you want to enter Death Valley from the South or from the East.
If you want to enter from the South, take a left onto 372 (starts in the center of Pahrump - becomes 178 in California) until you reach Shoshone. Turn right onto 127 and then again left to follow 178 until you enter Death Valley. If you want to enter from the East, continue a few miles on 160 and then turn left onto West Bell Vista Avenue (there is a sign indicating that this is the road to Death Valley but it's a bit hard to find). Now follow this road (about 20 miles) until you reach Death Valley Junction. Take a right and then immediately a left and follow 190 until you enter Death Valley.
