11 Facts About Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert.

Death Valley is a graben—a downdropped block of land between two mountain ranges.

Death Valley has a subtropical, hot desert climate, with long, extremely hot summers; short, mild winters; and little rainfall.

Death Valley is extremely dry, because it lies in the rain shadow of four major mountain ranges.

Extreme heat of Death Valley is attributable to a confluence of geographic and topographic factors.

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Severe heat and dryness contribute to perpetual drought-like conditions in Death Valley and prevent much cloud formation from passing through the confines of the valley, where precipitation is often in the form of a virga.

In 2005, Death Valley received four times its average annual rainfall of 1.

Darwin Falls, on the western edge of Death Valley Monument, falls 100 feet into a large pond surrounded by willows and cottonwood trees.

Efflorescence, known as salt flowers, is a rare occurrence in Death Valley that occurs when rain soaks into the soil and dissolves salt beneath the surface causing the ground to appear as if there is a light dusting of snow.

Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe of Native Americans, formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past millennium.

Death Valley received its English name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush.