Death Valley National Park

National park in California and Nevada, United States

Death Valley National Park

IUCN category II (national park)[1]

Sand dunes in Death Valley National Park

Location| California and Nevada, United States
Nearest city| Lone Pine, California
Beatty, Nevada
Coordinates| 36°14′31″N 116°49′33″W﻿ / ﻿36.24194°N 116.82583°W﻿ / 36.24194; -116.82583
Area| 3,422,024 acres (13,848.44 km2)[2]
Established| February 11, 1933 (1933-02-11) as a national monument
October 31, 1994 (1994-10-31) as a national park[3]
Visitors| 1,128,862 (in 2022)[4]
Governing body| National Park Service
Website| nps.gov/deva

Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka Valley and most of Saline Valley.

The park occupies an interface zone between the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts, protecting the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and its diverse environment of salt-flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons and mountains.

Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous United States, as well as the hottest, driest and lowest of all the national parks in the United States.[5] It contains Badwater Basin, the second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and lowest in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. More than 93% of the park is a designated wilderness area.[6]

The park is home to many species of plants and animals which have adapted to the harsh desert environment including creosote bush, Joshua tree, bighorn sheep, coyote, and the endangered Death Valley pupfish, a survivor from much wetter times. UNESCO included Death Valley as the principal feature of its Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve in 1984.[7]

A series of Native American groups inhabited the area from as early as 7000 BC, most recently the Timbisha around 1000 AD who migrated between winter camps in the valleys and summer grounds in the mountains. A group of European-Americans, lost in the valley in 1849 while looking for a shortcut to the gold fields of California, gave this valley its grim name, even though only one of their group died there.[8]

Several short-lived boom towns sprang up during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to mine gold and silver. The only long-term profitable ore to be mined was borax, which was transported out of the valley with twenty-mule teams. The valley later became the subject of books, radio programs, television series, and movies. Tourism expanded in the 1920s when resorts were built around Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. Death Valley National Monument was declared in 1933 and the park was substantially expanded and became a national park in 1994.[3]

The natural environment of the area has been shaped largely by its geology. The valley is actually a graben with the oldest rocks being extensively metamorphosed and at least 1.7 billion years old.[9] Ancient, warm, shallow seas deposited marine sediments until rifting opened the Pacific Ocean. Additional sedimentation occurred until a subduction zone formed off the coast. The subduction uplifted the region out of the sea and created a line of volcanoes. Later the crust started to pull apart, creating the current Basin and Range landform. Valleys filled with sediment and, during the wet times of glacial periods, with lakes, such as Lake Manly.

Death Valley is the fifth-largest American national park and the largest in the contiguous United States. It is also larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined, and nearly as large as Puerto Rico.[10] In 2013, Death Valley National Park was designated as a dark sky park by the International Dark-Sky Association.[11]

## Geographic setting

[edit]

There are two major valleys in the park, Death Valley and Panamint Valley. Both of these valleys were formed within the last few million years and both are bounded by north–south-trending mountain ranges.[12] These and adjacent valleys follow the general trend of Basin and Range topography with one modification: there are parallel strike-slip faults that perpendicularly bound the central extent of Death Valley. The result of this shearing action is additional extension in the central part of Death Valley which causes a slight widening and more subsidence there.

Uplift of surrounding mountain ranges and subsidence of the valley floor are both occurring. The uplift on the Black Mountains is so fast that the alluvial fans (fan-shaped deposits at the mouth of canyons) there are small and steep compared to the huge alluvial fans coming off the Panamint Range. Fast uplift of a mountain range in an arid environment often does not allow its canyons enough time to cut a classic V-shape all the way down to the stream bed. Instead, a V-shape ends at a slot canyon halfway down, forming a 'wine glass canyon.' Sediment is deposited on a small and steep alluvial fan.

At 282 feet (86 m) below sea level at its lowest point,[13] Badwater Basin on Death Valley's floor is the second-lowest depression in the Western Hemisphere (behind Laguna del Carbón in Argentina), while Mount Whitney, only 85 miles (137 km) to the west, rises to 14,505 feet (4,421 m) and is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.[12] This topographic relief is the greatest elevation gradient in the contiguous United States and is the terminus point of the Great Basin's southwestern drainage.[9] Although the extreme lack of water in the Great Basin makes this distinction of little current practical use, it does mean that in wetter times the lake that once filled Death Valley (Lake Manly) was the last stop for water flowing in the region, meaning the water there was saturated in dissolved materials. Thus, the salt pans in Death Valley are among the largest in the world and are rich in minerals, such as borax and various salts and hydrates.[14] The largest salt pan in the park extends 40 miles (64 km) from the Ashford Mill Site to the Salt Creek Hills, covering some 200 square miles (520 km2) of the valley floor.[14][note 1] The best known playa in the park is the Racetrack, known for its moving rocks.

## Climate

[edit]

A cross section through the highest and lowest points in Death Valley National Park

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Death Valley National Park has a hot desert climate (BWh). The plant hardiness zone at Badwater Basin is 9b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 28.0 °F (−2.2 °C).[15]

Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in North America due to its lack of surface water and low relief. It is so frequently the hottest spot in the United States that many tabulations of the highest daily temperatures in the country omit Death Valley as a matter of course.[16][17]

On the afternoon of July 10, 1913, the United States Weather Bureau recorded a high temperature of 134 °F (57 °C) at Greenland Ranch (now Furnace Creek) in Death Valley.[18] This temperature stands as the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth. (A report of a temperature of 58 °C (136 °F) recorded in Libya in 1922 was later determined to be inaccurate.)[19] Daily summer temperatures of 120 °F (49 °C) or greater are common, as well as below freezing nightly temperatures in the winter.[9] July is the hottest month, with an average high of 117 °F (47 °C) and an average low of 91 °F (33 °C). December is the coldest month, with an average high of 66 °F (19 °C) and an average low of 41 °F (5 °C). The record low is 15 °F (−9.4 °C). There are an average of 197.3 days annually with highs of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or higher and 146.9 days annually with highs of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or higher. Freezing temperatures of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower occur on an average of 8.6 days annually.

Several of the larger Death Valley springs derive their water from a regional aquifer, which extends as far east as southern Nevada and Utah. Much of the water in this aquifer has been there for many thousands of years, since the Pleistocene ice ages, when the climate was cooler and wetter. Today's drier climate does not provide enough precipitation to recharge the aquifer at the rate at which water is being withdrawn.[20]

Telescope Peak

The highest range within the park is the Panamint Range, with Telescope Peak being its highest point at 11,049 feet (3,368 m).[9] The Death Valley region is a transitional zone in the northernmost part of the Mojave Desert and consists of five mountain ranges removed from the Pacific Ocean. Three of these are significant barriers: the Sierra Nevada, the Argus Range, and the Panamint Range. Air masses tend to lose moisture as they are forced up over mountain ranges, in what climatologists call a rainshadow effect.

The exaggerated rain shadow effect for the Death Valley area makes it North America's driest spot, receiving about 1.5 inches (38 mm) of rainfall annually at Badwater, and some years fail to register any measurable rainfall.[21] Annual average precipitation varies from 1.92 inches (49 mm) overall below sea level to over 15 inches (380 mm) in the higher mountains that surround the valley.[22] When rain does arrive it often does so in intense storms that cause flash floods which remodel the landscape and sometimes create very shallow ephemeral lakes.[23]

Lake Badwater, March 2005

The hot, dry climate makes it difficult for soil to form. Mass wasting, the down-slope movement of loose rock, is therefore the dominant erosive force in mountainous areas, resulting in "skeletonized" ranges (mountains with very little soil on them). Sand dunes in the park, while famous, are not nearly as widespread as their fame or the dryness of the area may suggest. The Mesquite Flat dune field is the most easily accessible from the paved road just east of Stovepipe Wells in the north-central part of the valley and is primarily made of quartz sand. Another dune field is just 10 miles (16 km) to the north but is instead mostly composed of travertine sand.[24] The highest dunes in the park, and some of the highest in North America, are located in the Eureka Valley about 50 miles (80 km) to the north of Stovepipe Wells, while the Panamint Valley dunes and the Saline Valley dunes are located west and northwest of the town, respectively. The Ibex dune field is near the seldom-visited Ibex Hill in the southernmost part of the park, just south of the Saratoga Springs marshland. All the latter four dune fields are accessible only via unpaved roads. Prevailing winds in the winter come from the north, and prevailing winds in the summer come from the south. Thus, the overall position of the dune fields remains more or less fixed.

There are rare exceptions to the dry nature of the area. In 2005, an unusually wet winter created a 'lake' in the Badwater Basin and led to the greatest wildflower season in the park's history.[25] In October 2015, a "1000 year flood event" with over three inches of rain caused major damage in Death Valley National Park.[26] A similar widespread storm in August 2022 damaged pavement and deposited debris on nearly every road, trapping 1,000 residents and visitors overnight.[27]

Climate data for Death Valley National Park, California, 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1911–present

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °F (°C)  | 90
(32)  | 97
(36)  | 103
(39)  | 113
(45)  | 122
(50)  | 129
(54)  | 134
(57)  | 130
(54)  | 127
(53)  | 114
(46)  | 98
(37)  | 89
(32)  | 134
(57)
Mean maximum °F (°C)  | 78.4
(25.8)  | 85.1
(29.5)  | 95.4
(35.2)  | 106.0
(41.1)  | 113.6
(45.3)  | 122.0
(50.0)  | 125.9
(52.2)  | 123.4
(50.8)  | 118.1
(47.8)  | 106.2
(41.2)  | 90.0
(32.2)  | 77.8
(25.4)  | 126.7
(52.6)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)  | 67.2
(19.6)  | 73.7
(23.2)  | 82.6
(28.1)  | 91.0
(32.8)  | 100.7
(38.2)  | 111.1
(43.9)  | 117.4
(47.4)  | 115.9
(46.6)  | 107.7
(42.1)  | 93.3
(34.1)  | 77.4
(25.2)  | 65.6
(18.7)  | 92.0
(33.3)
Daily mean °F (°C)  | 54.9
(12.7)  | 61.3
(16.3)  | 69.8
(21.0)  | 77.9
(25.5)  | 87.8
(31.0)  | 97.5
(36.4)  | 104.2
(40.1)  | 102.3
(39.1)  | 93.4
(34.1)  | 78.9
(26.1)  | 64.0
(17.8)  | 53.4
(11.9)  | 78.8
(26.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)  | 42.5
(5.8)  | 49.0
(9.4)  | 57.1
(13.9)  | 64.8
(18.2)  | 75.0
(23.9)  | 84.0
(28.9)  | 91.0
(32.8)  | 88.7
(31.5)  | 79.1
(26.2)  | 64.4
(18.0)  | 50.5
(10.3)  | 41.1
(5.1)  | 65.6
(18.7)
Mean minimum °F (°C)  | 30.5
(−0.8)  | 36.1
(2.3)  | 42.8
(6.0)  | 49.8
(9.9)  | 58.5
(14.7)  | 67.9
(19.9)  | 78.3
(25.7)  | 75.3
(24.1)  | 65.4
(18.6)  | 49.5
(9.7)  | 35.9
(2.2)  | 29.0
(−1.7)  | 28.0
(−2.2)
Record low °F (°C)  | 15
(−9)  | 20
(−7)  | 26
(−3)  | 35
(2)  | 42
(6)  | 49
(9)  | 62
(17)  | 65
(18)  | 41
(5)  | 32
(0)  | 24
(−4)  | 19
(−7)  | 15
(−9)
Average precipitation inches (mm)  | 0.37
(9.4)  | 0.52
(13)  | 0.25
(6.4)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.03
(0.76)  | 0.05
(1.3)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.20
(5.1)  | 0.12
(3.0)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.26
(6.6)  | 2.20
(56)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 2.4  | 2.9  | 2.0  | 1.1  | 0.9  | 0.3  | 1.1  | 0.9  | 0.8  | 1.1  | 0.9  | 1.6  | 16.0
Source: NOAA[28][29]

Climate data for Death Valley (Cow Creek Station)

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °F (°C)  | 84
(29)  | 89
(32)  | 100
(38)  | 110
(43)  | 120
(49)  | 125
(52)  | 126
(52)  | 125
(52)  | 123
(51)  | 111
(44)  | 95
(35)  | 84
(29)  | 126
(52)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)  | 64.4
(18.0)  | 71.6
(22.0)  | 80.6
(27.0)  | 90.9
(32.7)  | 100.0
(37.8)  | 109.3
(42.9)  | 116.0
(46.7)  | 113.8
(45.4)  | 106.9
(41.6)  | 92.1
(33.4)  | 75.4
(24.1)  | 65.9
(18.8)  | 90.6
(32.6)
Daily mean °F (°C)  | 52.5
(11.4)  | 59.1
(15.1)  | 67.4
(19.7)  | 77.5
(25.3)  | 86.4
(30.2)  | 95.3
(35.2)  | 102.1
(38.9)  | 99.9
(37.7)  | 92.1
(33.4)  | 78.1
(25.6)  | 62.3
(16.8)  | 54.1
(12.3)  | 77.2
(25.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)  | 40.6
(4.8)  | 46.6
(8.1)  | 54.3
(12.4)  | 64.1
(17.8)  | 72.7
(22.6)  | 81.2
(27.3)  | 88.4
(31.3)  | 86.0
(30.0)  | 77.4
(25.2)  | 64.0
(17.8)  | 49.3
(9.6)  | 42.4
(5.8)  | 63.9
(17.7)
Record low °F (°C)  | 19
(−7)  | 30
(−1)  | 33
(1)  | 45
(7)  | 52
(11)  | 54
(12)  | 69
(21)  | 69
(21)  | 57
(14)  | 40
(4)  | 32
(0)  | 27
(−3)  | 19
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm)  | 0.24
(6.1)  | 0.32
(8.1)  | 0.20
(5.1)  | 0.20
(5.1)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.02
(0.51)  | 0.10
(2.5)  | 0.11
(2.8)  | 0.12
(3.0)  | 0.11
(2.8)  | 0.20
(5.1)  | 0.29
(7.4)  | 2.00
(51)
Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu[30]

## Human history

[edit]

Petroglyphs above Mesquite Springs

### Early inhabitants and transient populations

[edit]

Four Native American cultures are known to have lived in the area during the last 10,000 years.[9] The first known group, the Nevares Spring People, were hunters and gatherers who arrived in the area perhaps 9,000 years ago (7000 BC) when there were still small lakes in Death Valley and neighboring Panamint Valley.[31] A much milder climate persisted at that time, and large game animals were still plentiful. By 5,000 years ago (3000 BC) the Mesquite Flat People displaced the Nevares Spring People.[31] Around 2,000 years ago the Saratoga Spring People moved into the area, which by then was probably already a hot, dry desert.[31][note 2] This culture was more advanced at hunting and gathering and was skillful at handcrafts. They also left mysterious stone patterns in the valley.

One thousand years ago, the nomadic Timbisha (formerly called Shoshone and also known as Panamint or Koso) moved into the area and hunted game and gathered mesquite beans along with pinyon pine nuts.[9][31] Because of the wide altitude differential between the valley bottom and the mountain ridges, especially on the west, the Timbisha practiced a vertical migration pattern.[9] Their winter camps were located near water sources in the valley bottoms. As the spring and summer progressed and the weather warmed, grasses and other plant food sources ripened at progressively higher altitudes. November found them at the very top of the mountain ridges where they harvested pine nuts before moving back to the valley bottom for winter.

The California Gold Rush brought the first people of European descent known to visit the immediate area. In December 1849 two groups of California Gold Country-bound travelers with perhaps 100 wagons total stumbled into Death Valley after getting lost on what they thought was a shortcut off the Old Spanish Trail.[32] Called the Bennett-Arcane Party, they were unable to find a pass out of the valley for weeks; they were able to find fresh water at various springs in the area, but were forced to eat several of their oxen to survive. They used the wood of their wagons to cook the meat and make jerky. The place where they did this is today referred to as "Burnt Wagons Camp" and is located near Stovepipe Wells.

After abandoning their wagons, they eventually were able to hike out of the valley. Just after leaving the valley, one of the women in the group turned and said, "Goodbye Death Valley," giving the valley its name.[32] Included in the party was William Lewis Manly whose autobiographical book Death Valley in '49 detailed this trek and popularized the area (geologists later named the prehistoric lake that once filled the valley after him).

### Boom and bust

[edit]

Historical locomotive for transporting borax in Death Valley

The ores that are most famously associated with the area were also the easiest to collect and the most profitable: evaporite deposits such as salts, borate, and talc. Borax was found by Rosie and Aaron Winters near The Ranch at Death Valley (then called Greenland) in 1881.[33] Later that same year, the Eagle Borax Works became Death Valley's first commercial borax operation. William Tell Coleman built the Harmony Borax Works plant and began to process ore in late 1883 or early 1884, continuing until 1888.[34] This mining and smelting company produced borax to make soap and for industrial uses.[35] The end product was shipped out of the valley 165 miles (266 km) to the Mojave railhead in 10-ton-capacity wagons pulled by "twenty-mule teams" that were actually teams of 18 mules and two horses each.[35]

A twenty-mule team in Death Valley

The teams averaged two miles (3.2 km) an hour and required about 30 days to complete a round trip.[33] The trade name 20-Mule Team Borax was established by Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company after Smith acquired Coleman's borax holdings in 1890. A memorable advertising campaign used the wagon's image to promote the Boraxo brand of granular hand soap and the Death Valley Days radio and television programs. In 1914, the Death Valley Railroad was built to serve mining operations on the east side of the valley. Mining continued after the collapse of Coleman's empire, and by the late 1920s the area was the world's number one source of borax.[9] Some four to six million years old, the Furnace Creek Formation is the primary source of borate minerals gathered from Death Valley's playas.[33]

Other visitors stayed to prospect for and mine deposits of copper, gold, lead, and silver.[9] These sporadic mining ventures were hampered by their remote location and the harsh desert environment. In December 1903, two men from Ballarat were prospecting for silver.[36] One was an out-of-work Irish miner named Jack Keane and the other was a one-eyed Basque butcher named Domingo Etcharren. Quite by accident, Keane discovered an immense ledge of free-milling gold by the duo's work site and named the claim the Keane Wonder Mine. This started a minor and short-lived gold rush into the area.[36] The Keane Wonder Mine, along with mines at Rhyolite, Skidoo and Harrisburg, were the only ones to extract enough metal ore to make them worthwhile. Outright shams such as Leadfield also occurred, but most ventures quickly ended after a short series of prospecting mines failed to yield evidence of significant ore (these mines now dot the entire area and are a significant hazard to anyone who enters them). The boom towns which sprang up around these mines flourished during the first decade of the 1900s, but soon declined after the Panic of 1907.[34]

### Early tourism

[edit]

The first documented tourist facilities in Death Valley were a set of tent houses built in the 1920s where Stovepipe Wells is now located. People flocked to resorts built around natural springs thought to have curative and restorative properties. In 1927, Pacific Coast Borax turned the crew quarters of its Furnace Creek Ranch into a resort, creating the Furnace Creek Inn and resort.[37] The spring at Furnace Creek was harnessed to develop the resort, and as the water was diverted, the surrounding marshes and wetlands started to shrink.[20]

Scotty's Castle under construction

Soon the valley was a popular winter destination. Other facilities started off as private getaways but were later opened to the public. Most notable among these was Death Valley Ranch, better known as Scotty's Castle. This large ranch home built in the Spanish Revival style became a hotel in the late 1930s and, largely because of the fame of Death Valley Scotty, a tourist attraction. Death Valley Scotty, whose real name was Walter Scott, was a gold miner who pretended to be the owner of "his castle", which he claimed to have built with profits from his gold mine. Neither claim was true, but the real owner, Chicago millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson, encouraged the myth. When asked by reporters what his connection was to Walter Scott's castle, Johnson replied that he was Mr. Scott's banker.[38]

### Protection and later history

[edit]

President Herbert Hoover proclaimed a national monument in and around Death Valley on February 11, 1933, setting aside almost two million acres (8,100 km2) of southeastern California and small parts of Nevada.[39]

Civilian Conservation Corps workers in Death Valley

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed infrastructure in Death Valley National Monument during the Great Depression and on into the early 1940s. The CCC built barracks, graded 500 miles (800 km) of roads, installed water and telephone lines, and a total of 76 buildings. Trails in the Panamint Range were built to points of scenic interest, and an adobe village, laundry and trading post were constructed for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe. Five campgrounds, restrooms, an airplane landing field and picnic facilities were also built.[40]

The creation of the monument resulted in a temporary closing of the lands to prospecting and mining. However, Death Valley was quickly reopened to mining by Congressional action in June 1933. As improvements in mining technology allowed lower grades of ore to be processed, and new heavy equipment allowed greater amounts of rock to be moved, mining in Death Valley changed. Gone were the days of the "single-blanket, jackass prospector" long associated with the romantic west. Open pit and strip mines scarred the landscape as international mining corporations bought claims in highly visible areas of the national monument. The public outcry that ensued led to greater protection for all national park and monument areas in the United States.[34] In 1976, Congress passed the Mining in the Parks Act, which closed Death Valley National Monument to the filing of new mining claims, banned open-pit mining and required the National Park Service to examine the validity of tens of thousands of pre-1976 mining claims. Mining was allowed to resume on a limited basis in 1980 with stricter environmental standards.[34] The last mine in the park, Billie Mine, closed in 2005.[41]

In 1952 President Harry Truman added the Devils Hole to Death Valley National Monument; it is the only habitat of the Devils Hole pupfish.[42][43]

Death Valley National Monument was designated a biosphere reserve in 1984.[3] On October 31, 1994, the monument was expanded by 1.3 million acres (5,300 km2) and re-designated as a national park, via congressional passage of the California Desert Protection Act (Public Law 103–433).[3] Consequently, the elevated status for Death Valley made it the largest national park in the contiguous United States. On March 12, 2019, the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act added 35,292 acres (55 sq mi; 143 km2) to the park.[44]

Many of the larger cities and towns within the boundary of the regional groundwater flow system that the park and its plants and animals rely upon are experiencing some of the fastest growth rates of any place in the United States. Notable examples within a 100-mile (160 km) radius of Death Valley National Park include Las Vegas and Pahrump, Nevada. In the case of Las Vegas, the local Chamber of Commerce estimates that 6,000 people are moving to the city every month. Between 1985 and 1995, the population of the Las Vegas Valley increased from 550,700 to 1,138,800.[20]

In 1977, parts of Death Valley were used by director George Lucas as a filming location for Star Wars, providing the setting for the fictional planet Tatooine.[45][46]

Telescope and Wildrose Peaks from Emigrant Canyon Road

## Geologic history

[edit]

Era  | Rock Units/Formations  | Principal Geologic Events

|
|

Cenozoic  | Alluvial fans, stream, and playa deposits, dunes, numerous sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic units in separate and interconnected basins and igneous fields (includes Artist Drive, Furnace Creek, Funeral, and Nova Formations).  | Major unconformity, continued deposition in modern Death Valley, opening of modern Death Valley, continuing development of present ranges and basins, onset of major extension.
Mesozoic  | Granitic plutons, Butte Valley  | Thrust faulting and intrusion of plutons related to Sierra Nevada batholith; shallow marine deposition; unconformity.
Paleozoic  | Resting spring Shale, Tin Mountain Limestone, Lost Burro, Hidden Valley Dolomite, Eureka Quartzite, Nopah, Bonanza King, Carrara, Zabriskie Quartzite, Wood Canyon.  | Development of a long-continuing carbonate bank on a passive continental margin; numerous intervals of emergence, interrupted by deposition of a blanket of sandstone in Middle Ordovician time. Deposition of a wedge of silliciclastic sediment during and immediately following the rifting along a new continental margin.
Proterozoic  | Crystalline basement, Pahrump, Stirling Quartzite, Johnnie, Ibex, Noonday Dolomite, Kingston Peak, Beck Spring, Crystal Spring.  | Regional metamorphism, Major unconformity, rapid uplift and erosion, shallow marine deposition, glacio-marine deposition, unconformity. Shallow to deep marine deposition along an incipient continental margin.
The Death Valley basin is filled with sediment (light yellow) eroded from the surrounding mountains. Black lines show some of the major faults that created the valley.

Main article: Geology of the Death Valley area

The park has a diverse and complex geologic history. Since its formation, the area that comprises the park has experienced at least four major periods of extensive volcanism, three or four periods of major sedimentation, and several intervals of major tectonic deformation where the crust has been reshaped. Two periods of glaciation (a series of ice ages) have also had effects on the area, although no glaciers ever existed in the ranges now in the park.[47]

### Basement and Pahrump Group

[edit]

Little is known about the history of the oldest exposed rocks in the area due to extensive metamorphism (alteration of rock by heat and pressure). Radiometric dating gives an age of 1,700 million years for the metamorphism during the Proterozoic.[9] About 1,400 million years ago a mass of granite now in the Panamint Range intruded this complex.[48] Uplift later exposed these rocks to nearly 500 million years of erosion.[48]

The Proterozoic sedimentary formations of the Pahrump Group were deposited on these basement rocks. This occurred following uplift and erosion of any earlier sediments from the Proterozoic basement rocks. The Pahrump is composed of arkose conglomerate (quartz clasts in a concrete-like matrix) and mudstone in its lower part, followed by dolomite from carbonate banks topped by algal mats as stromatolites, and finished with basin-filling sediment derived from the above, including possible glacial till from the hypothesized Snowball Earth glaciation.[49] The very youngest rocks in the Pahrump Group are basaltic lava flows.

### Rifting and deposition

[edit]

The Noonday Dolomite was formed as a carbonate shelf after the break-up of Rodinia.

A rift opened and subsequently flooded the region as part of the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic (by about 755 million years ago) and the creation of the Pacific Ocean. A shoreline similar to the present Atlantic Ocean margin of the United States lay to the east. An algal mat-covered carbonate bank was deposited, forming the Noonday Dolomite.[50] Subsidence of the region occurred as the continental crust thinned and the newly formed Pacific widened, forming the Ibex Formation. An angular unconformity (an uneven gap in the geologic record) followed.

A true ocean basin developed to the west, breaking all the earlier formations along a steep front. A wedge of clastic sediment then began to accumulate at the base of the two underwater precipices, starting the formation of opposing continental shelves.[51] Three formations developed from sediment that accumulated on the wedge. The region's first known fossils of complex life are found in the resulting formations.[51] Notable among these are the Ediacara fauna and trilobites, the evolution of the latter being part of the Cambrian Explosion of life.

The sandy mudflats gave way about 550 million years ago to a carbonate platform (similar to the one around the present-day Bahamas), which lasted for the next 300 million years of Paleozoic time (refer to the middle of the timescale image). Death Valley's position was then within ten or twenty degrees of the Paleozoic equator. Thick beds of carbonate-rich sediments were periodically interrupted by periods of emergence. Although details of geography varied during this immense interval of time, a north-northeastern coastline trend generally ran from Arizona up through Utah. The resulting eight formations and one group are 20,000 feet (6 km) thick and underlay much of the Cottonwood, Funeral, Grapevine, and Panamint ranges.[51]

### Compression and uplift

[edit]

The Lake Manly lake system as it might have looked during its last maximum extent 22,000 years ago[52] (USGS image)

In the early-to-mid- Mesozoic the western edge of the North American continent was pushed against the oceanic plate under the Pacific Ocean, creating a subduction zone.[51] A subduction zone is a type of contact between different crustal plates where heavier crust slides below lighter crust. Erupting volcanoes and uplifting mountains were created as a result, and the coastline was pushed to the west. The Sierran Arc started to form to the northwest from heat and pressure generated from subduction, and compressive forces caused thrust faults to develop.[53]

A long period of uplift and erosion was concurrent with and followed the above events, creating a major unconformity, which is a large gap in the geologic record. Sediments worn off the Death Valley region were carried both east and west by wind and water.[54] No Jurassic- to Eocene-aged sedimentary formations exist in the area, except for some possibly Jurassic-age volcanic rocks (see the top of the timescale image).[54]

### Stretching and lakes

[edit]

During very wet periods, the Amargosa River can flow at the surface, as it did in February 2005.

Basin and Range-associated stretching of large parts of crust below southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico started around 16 million years ago and the region is still spreading.[9] This stretching began to affect the Death and Panamint valleys area by 3 million years ago.[55] Before this, rocks now in the Panamint Range were on top of rocks that would become the Black Mountains and the Cottonwood Mountains. Lateral and vertical transport of these blocks was accomplished by movement on normal faults. Right-lateral movement along strike-slip faults that run parallel to and at the base of the ranges also helped to develop the area.[56] Torsional forces, probably associated with northwesterly movement of the Pacific plate along the San Andreas Fault (west of the region), is responsible for the lateral movement.[55]

Igneous activity associated with this stretching occurred from 12 million to 4 million years ago.[56] Sedimentation is concentrated in valleys (basins) from material eroded from adjacent ranges. The amount of sediment deposited has roughly kept up with this subsidence, resulting in the retention of more or less the same valley floor elevation over time.[57]

Pleistocene ice ages started 2 million years ago, and melt from alpine glaciers on the nearby Sierra Nevada Mountains fed a series of lakes that filled Death and Panamint valleys and surrounding basins (see the top of the timescale image). The lake that filled Death Valley was the last of a chain of lakes fed by the Amargosa and Mojave Rivers, and possibly also the Owens River. The large lake that covered much of Death Valley's floor, which geologists call Lake Manly, started to dry up 10,500 years ago.[58] Salt pans and playas were created as ice age glaciers retreated, thus drastically reducing the lakes' water source. Only faint shorelines are left.

## Biology

[edit]

Sphinx moth on a rock nettle in Mosaic Canyon

Habitat varies from salt pan at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level to the sub-alpine conditions found on the summit of Telescope Peak, which rises to 11,049 feet (3,368 m).[59] Vegetation zones include creosote bush, desert holly, and mesquite at the lower elevations and sage up through shadscale, blackbrush, Joshua tree, pinyon-juniper, to limber pine and bristlecone pine woodlands.[59] The salt pan is devoid of vegetation, and the rest of the valley floor and lower slopes have sparse cover, although where water is available, an abundance of vegetation is usually present. These zones and the adjacent desert support a variety of wildlife species, including 51 species of native mammals, 307 species of birds, 36 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians, and 2 species of native fish.[60]

Small mammals are more numerous than large mammals, such as bighorn sheep, coyotes, bobcats, kit foxes, cougars, and mule deer.[60] Mule deer are present in the pinyon/juniper associations of the Grapevine, Cottonwood, and Panamint ranges.[60] Bighorn sheep are a rare species of mountain-dwelling sheep that exist in isolated bands in the Sierra and in Death Valley. These are highly adaptable animals and can eat almost any plant. They have no known predators, but humans and burros compete for habitat.

Death Valley pupfish spawning in Salt Creek

The ancestors of the Death Valley pupfish swam to the area from the Colorado River via a long-since dried-up system of rivers and lakes (see Lake Manly). They now live in two separate populations: one in Salt Creek and another in Cottonball Marsh. Death Valley is one of the hottest and driest places in North America, yet it is home to over 1,000 species of plants; 23 of which, including the very rare rock lady (Holmgrenanthe), are not found anywhere else.[59]

Adaptation to the dry environment is key. For example, creosote bush and mesquite have tap-root systems that can extend 50 feet (15 m) down in order to take advantage of a year-round supply of ground water. The diversity of Death Valley's plant communities results partly from the region's location in a transition zone between the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert and the Sonoran Desert. This location, combined with the great relief found within the park, supports vegetation typical of three biotic life zones: the lower Sonoran, the Canadian, and the arctic/alpine in portions of the Panamint Range. Based on the Munz and Keck (1968) classifications, seven plant communities can be categorized within these life zones, each characterized by dominant vegetation and representative of three vegetation types: scrub, desert woodland, and coniferous forest. Microhabitats further subdivide some communities into zones, especially on the valley floor.[61]

Unlike more typical locations across the Mojave Desert, many of the water-dependent Death Valley habitats possess a diversity of plant and animal species that are not found anywhere else in the world.[20] The existence of these species is due largely to a unique geologic history and the process of evolution that has progressed in habitats that have been isolated from one another since the Pleistocene epoch.[62]

## Activities

[edit]

See also: Places of interest in the Death Valley area

Sightseeing is available by personal automobile, four-wheel drive, motorcycle,[63] bicycle, mountain bike (on established roadways only), and hiking.[64] State Route 190, the Badwater Road, the Scotty's Castle Road, and paved roads to Dante's View and Wildrose provide access to the major scenic viewpoints and historic points of interest. More than 350 miles (560 km) of unpaved and four-wheel-drive roads provide access to wilderness hiking, camping, and historical sites.[65] Unlike many other national parks in the U.S. there are no formal entrance stations, and instead entry fees can be paid at the visitor centers, ranger stations, or various fee machines around the park.[66] There are hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulties, but most backcountry areas are accessible only by cross-country hiking. The peak season for visiting the park is from October to May, avoiding summer extreme temperatures. Costumed living history tours of the historic Scotty's Castle were suspended in October 2015 due to extensive flood damage to the buildings and grounds. It remains closed to the public.[67][27]

A tourist sliding down Star Dune in the Mesquite Flat dune field

There are nine designated campgrounds within the park, and overnight backcountry camping permits are available at the visitor center.[68] Xanterra Parks & Resorts owns and operates a private resort, the Oasis at Death Valley,[39] which comprises two separate and distinct hotels: the Inn at Death Valley is a four-star historic hotel, and the Ranch at Death Valley is a three-star ranch-style property reminiscent of the mining and prospecting days. Panamint Springs Resort is in the western part of the park. Death Valley Lodging Company operates the Stovepipe Wells Resort under a concession permit. There are a few motels near entrances to the park, in Shoshone, Death Valley Junction, Beatty, and Pahrump.

Furnace Creek Visitor Center is located on CA-190 and includes exhibits and a film about the park's geology, climate, wildlife and natural history, as well as human history and pioneer experience.[69] During the winter season—November through April—rangers offer interpretive tours and a variety of walks, talks, and presentations about Death Valley cultural and natural history. The Death Valley Natural History Association [Wikidata] maintains a bookstore.

The northeast corner of Saline Valley has several developed hot spring pools accessible by several hours' drive on unpaved roads or by flying a personal aircraft to the Chicken Strip—an uncharted airstrip a short walk from the springs.[70]

Death Valley National Park is a popular location for stargazing as it has one of the darkest night skies in the United States. Despite its remote location, air quality and night visibility are threatened by civilization. In particular, light pollution is introduced by nearby Las Vegas.[71] The darkest skies are located in the northwest of the park;[72] Ubehebe Crater is a Bortle class 1 or "excellent dark sky" site.[73] The Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy are visible to the unaided eye under these conditions, and the Milky Way casts shadows; optical phenomena such as zodiacal light or "false dawn" and gegenschein are also visible to the unaided eye under these conditions.[74][75] Most southern regions of the park are Bortle class 2 or "average dark sky" sites.[76]

A 360-degree panorama of Racetrack Playa at night. The Milky Way is visible as an arc in the center.

## See also

[edit]

* Henry Wade Exit Route California Historic Landmark
* List of national parks of the United States
* List of nationally protected areas of the United States
* National parks in California
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Death Valley National Park

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Mean maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.

## References

[edit]

### Explanatory notes

[edit]

1. ^ Badwater, the Devils Golf Course, and Salt Creek are all part of the Death Valley Saltpan.
2. ^ The last known lake to exist in Death Valley likely dried up 3,000 years ago.

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ "Death Valley". protectedplanet.net. Protected Planet. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
2. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2012" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 16, 2014. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
3. ^ a b c d National Park Index (2001–2003), p. 26
4. ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
5. ^ "Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
6. ^ "Backcountry Roads – Death Valley National Park". National Park Service. August 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
7. ^ "Biosphere Reserve Information – United States of America – Mojave and Colorado Deserts". unesco.org. UNESCO. November 3, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
8. ^ Dotson, Danny. "Research Guides: National Parks: Death Valley National Park". guides.osu.edu. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wright and Miller 1997, p. 611
10. ^ "National Park Service Acreage Reports". National Park Service. December 31, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2022. "Acreage report for calendar year ending December 31, 2021. The leftmost column titled "Gross Area Acres" under the "Listing of Acreage" tab was utilized as the source."
11. ^ "Death Valley National Park (U.S.)". darksky.org. International Dark-Sky Association. n.d. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
12. ^ a b Sharp 1997, p. 1
13. ^ "USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) 1 meter Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)". United States Geological Survey. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
14. ^ a b Wright and Miller 1997, p. 625
15. ^ "USDA Interactive Plant Hardiness Map". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
16. ^ Hickcox, David H., "Temperature extremes. (United States) (1996 Weather)", Weatherwise, February 1, 1997. Abstract here
17. ^ Hickcox, David, "Temperature extremes. (daily maximum and minimum temperatures in the US)", Weatherwise, March 1, 1999; abstract at Encyclopedia.com
18. ^ "World Meteorological Organization World Weather/Climate Extremes Archive". Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
19. ^ El Fadli, KI; et al. (September 2012). "World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58°C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (13 September 1922)". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 94 (2): 199. Bibcode:2013BAMS...94..199E. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1.
20. ^ a b c d USGS 2004, p. "Furnace Creek"
21. ^ Wright and Miller 1997, pp. 610–611
22. ^ USGS weather
23. ^ "Flash Floods of 2015 – Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
24. ^ Kiver 1999, p. 283
25. ^ "Death Valles Alive with Wildflowers". NBC News. Associated Press. March 14, 2005. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
26. ^ "After historic flooding, Death Valley gears up for 'a long, hard recovery'". Los Angeles Times. November 10, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
27. ^ a b Wigglesworth, Alex; Ryan, Harriet (August 7, 2022). "Destructive rain in Death Valley and flooded Vegas casinos mark a summer of extreme weather". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
28. ^ "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
29. ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
30. ^ WRCC. "Western U.S. Climate Historical Summaries Weather". Desert Research Institute. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
31. ^ a b c d Wallace 1978
32. ^ a b Kiver 1999, p. 277
33. ^ a b c USGS 2004, p. "Harmony Borax Works"
34. ^ a b c d NPS website, "Mining"
35. ^ a b NPS website, "Twenty Mule Teams"
36. ^ a b NPS website, "People"
37. ^ NPS website, "Furnace Creek Inn"
38. ^ NPS website, "Johnson and Scotty Build a Castle"
39. ^ a b NPS Visitor Guide
40. ^ NPS website, "Civilian Conservation Corps"
41. ^ "Mining in Death Valley – Death Valley National Park". National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
42. ^ Rivard, Katherine. "The Extraordinary Lives of Death Valley's Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish". National Park Foundation. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
43. ^ "Devils Hole – Death Valley National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
44. ^ "S.47 – John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act; Part III—National Park System additions; Sec. 1431. Death Valley National Park boundary revision". congress.gov. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
45. ^ Hearn, Marcus (2005). The Cinema of George Lucas. Foreword by Ron Howard. New York: Abrams. p. 109\. ISBN 0-8109-4968-7.
46. ^ "Star Wars trek: Death Valley – April 2001". Star Wars Locations. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
47. ^ "USGS Changing Climates and Ancient Lakes". USGS Western Region Geology and Geophysics Science Center. December 18, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
48. ^ a b Wright and Miller 1997, p. 631
49. ^ Wright and Miller 1997, pp. 631–632
50. ^ Wright and Miller 1997, p. 632
51. ^ a b c d Wright and Miller 1997, p. 634
52. ^ Kiver 1999, p. 281
53. ^ Barth, A.P. (August 1, 2011). "Birth of the Sierra Nevada magmatic arc: Early Mesozoic plutonism and volcanism in the east-central Sierra Nevada of California". Geological Society of America. 7 (4) (2011): 877–897 - via Geoscience World.
54. ^ a b Wright and Miller 1997, p. 635
55. ^ a b Kiver 1999, p. 278
56. ^ a b Wright and Miller 1997, p. 616
57. ^ "Death Valley Geology". National Park Service. January 9, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
58. ^ Sharp 1997, p. 41
59. ^ a b c NPS website, "Plants"
60. ^ a b c NPS website, "Animals"
61. ^ "NPS Death Valley General Management Plan". National Park Service. November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
62. ^ "National Park Service Death Valley Geologic Formations". National Park Service. September 29, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
63. ^ Joe Berk (September–October 2008). "Death Valley by motorcycle". Motorcycle Classics. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
64. ^ "Outdoor Activities". National Park Service. April 21, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
65. ^ NPS 2002, p. 55
66. ^ "Death Valley National Park Fees & Passes". National Park Service. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
67. ^ Death Valley National Park – Flash Floods of 2015, National Park Service
68. ^ NPS website, "Campgrounds"
69. ^ NPS website, "Ranger Programs"
70. ^ "Chicken Strip Reopens | Recreational Aviation Foundation". theraf.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
71. ^ NPS website, "Lightscape / Night Sky"
72. ^ "Death Valley". caglow.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
73. ^ "Light pollution map". lightpollutionmap.info. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
74. ^ "bortle dark sky scale". handprint.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
75. ^ "A Challenge in Visual Athletics: Hunting the Gegenschein – Universe Today". Universe Today. February 3, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
76. ^ "Light pollution map". lightpollutionmap.info. Retrieved July 13, 2018.

### Bibliography

[edit]

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.

* Kiver, Eugene P.; David V. Harris (1999). Geology of U.S. Parklands (Fifth ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-33218-3.
* National Park Service (2001–2003). The National Parks Index (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
* National Park Service (April 2002). Death Valley General Management Plan (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
* National Park Service. Death Valley National Park Visitor Guide 2008/2009 (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
* National Park Service. "Death Valley National Park website". U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 17, 2008. (adapted public domain text)
* Rothman, Hal K., and Char Miller. Death Valley National Park: A History (University of Nevada Press; 2013) 216 pages; an environmental and human history
* Sharp, Robert P.; Allen F. Glazner (1997). Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87842-362-0.
* "Death Valley National Park Virtual Geology Field Trip". United States Geological Survey. January 13, 2004. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008. (adapted public domain text)
* "Death Valley's Incredible Weather". United States Geological Survey. January 13, 2004. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
* Wallace, William James; Edith Wallace (1978). Ancient Peoples and Cultures of Death Valley National Monument. Ramona, CA: Acoma Books. ISBN 978-0-916552-12-1.
* Wright, Laureen A.; Miller, Martin G. (1997). "Chapter 46: Death Valley National Park, Eastern California and southwestern Nevada". In Ann G. Harris (ed.). Geology of National Parks (Fifth ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing. pp. 610–637\. ISBN 978-0-7872-1065-6.

## External links

[edit]

Death Valley National Park at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Travel information from Wikivoyage

* Death Valley National Park by the National Park Service
* 1920s images of Death Valley and Surrounding Locales from the Death Valley Region Photographs Digital Collection: Utah State University
* Death Valley National Park by the Death Valley Conservancy
* Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-300, "Death Valley National Park Roads, Death Valley Junction, Inyo County, CA", 25 photos, 8 color transparencies, 3 photo caption pages
* Cowan, Jill; Lampcov, Mette (November 20, 2023). "In Death Valley, a Rare Lake Comes Alive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023. (Archived version)

* v
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Death Valley and Death Valley National Park

Fauna, flora and minerals|

* Amargosa springsnail
* Badwater snail
* Borax
* Chuckwalla
* Death Valley monkeyflower
* Death Valley pupfish
* Death Valley June beetle
* Devils Hole pupfish
* Saratoga Springs pupfish

History|

* Amargosa Opera House and Hotel
* Badwater
* Death Valley '49ers
* Death Valley Railroad
* Greenwater
* Harmony Borax Works
* Lake Manly (Badwater Basin)
* Skidoo
* Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
* Twenty-mule team

Places|

* Amargosa Range / River / Valley
* Ash Meadows NWR
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* Dante's View
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* Panamint City / Panamint Range / Panamint Springs / Panamint Valley
* Rainbow Canyon
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* Rhyolite
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* Scotty's Castle
* Stovepipe Wells
* Telescope Peak
* Trona
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* Zabriskie Point

Transportation|

* California: SR 127
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* Trona Railway
* Nevada: US 95
* SR 267
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|

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Other|

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Previous|

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* Nevada portal

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National Park System

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|

Preserves|

Mojave

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Recreation Areas|

* Golden Gate
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California State Parks

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* Leo Carrillo
* Limekiln
* MacKerricher
* Malibu Creek
* Manchester
* McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial
* McLaughlin Eastshore
* Mendocino Headlands
* Mendocino Woodlands
* Montaña de Oro
* Morro Bay
* Mount Diablo
* Mount San Jacinto
* Mount Tamalpais
* Navarro River Redwoods
* Pacheco
* Palomar Mountain
* Pfeiffer Big Sur
* Pillar Point Bluff
* Placerita Canyon
* Plumas-Eureka
* Point Mugu
* Portola Redwoods
* Prairie Creek Redwoods
* Red Rock Canyon
* Richardson Grove
* Rio de Los Angeles
* Robert Louis Stevenson
* Russian Gulch
* Saddleback Butte
* Salt Point
* Samuel P. Taylor
* San Bruno Mountain
* Sinkyone Wilderness
* South Yuba River
* Sue-meg
* Sugarloaf Ridge
* Sutter Buttes
* Tolowa Dunes
* Tomales Bay
* Topanga
* Trione-Annadel
* Van Damme
* Washoe Meadows
* Wilder Ranch

|

Natural Reserves|

* Antelope Valley California Poppy
* Armstrong Redwoods
* Azalea
* Caspar Headlands
* John B. Dewitt Redwoods
* John Little
* Jug Handle
* Kruse Rhododendron
* Los Osos Oaks
* Mailliard Redwoods
* Mono Lake Tufa
* Montgomery Woods
* Point Lobos
* Smithe Redwoods
* Torrey Pines
* Tule Elk

Marine Reserves|

* Albany
* Anacapa Island SMR
* Asilomar
* Begg Rock
* Big Creek
* Bodega Head
* Cabrillo
* Carmel Pinnacles
* Carrington Point
* Del Mar Landing
* Elkhorn Slough
* Emeryville Crescent
* Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero
* Fitzgerald
* Gerstle Cove
* Gull Island
* Harris Point
* Judith Rock
* Laguna Beach
* Long Point
* Lovers Point
* Montara and Pillar Point
* Moro Cojo Slough
* Morro Bay
* Natural Bridges
* Piedras Blancas
* Point Arena
* Point Buchon
* Point Cabrillo
* Point Dume
* Point Lobos
* Point Reyes
* Point Sur
* Richardson Rock
* Russian River
* Santa Barbara Island
* Scorpion
* Sea Lion Gulch
* Skunk Point
* South Cape Mendocino
* Stewarts Point
* Vandenberg

Historic Parks|

* Anderson Marsh
* Antelope Valley Indian Museum
* Bale Grist Mill
* Benicia Capitol
* Bidwell Mansion
* Bodie
* California Citrus
* California State Indian Museum
* Chumash Painted Cave
* Colonel Allensworth
* Columbia
* El Presidio de Santa Barbara
* Empire Mine
* Folsom Powerhouse
* Fort Humboldt
* Fort Ross
* Fort Tejon
* Governor's Mansion
* Hearst Castle
* Indian Grinding Rock
* Jack London
* La Purísima Mission
* Leland Stanford Mansion
* Los Angeles
* Los Encinos
* Malakoff Diggins
* Marconi Conference Center
* Marsh Creek
* Marshall Gold Discovery
* Monterey
* Old Sacramento
* Old Town San Diego
* Olompali
* Pigeon Point Light Station
* Pío Pico
* Point Sur
* Railtown 1897
* Rancho Petaluma Adobe
* San Juan Bautista
* San Pasqual Battlefield
* Santa Cruz Mission
* Santa Susana Pass
* Shasta
* Sonoma
* Sutter's Fort
* Tomo-Kahni
* Wassama Round House
* Watts Towers
* Weaverville Joss House
* Will Rogers
* William B. Ide Adobe
* Woodland Opera House

Beaches|

* Asilomar
* Bean Hollow
* Bolsa Chica
* Cardiff
* Carlsbad
* Carmel River
* Carpinteria
* Caspar Headlands
* Cayucos
* Corona del Mar
* Crown Memorial
* Dockweiler
* Doheny
* El Capitán
* Emma Wood
* Gray Whale Cove
* Greenwood
* Half Moon Bay
* Huntington
* Leucadia
* Lighthouse Field
* Little River
* Malibu Lagoon
* Mandalay
* Manresa
* Marina
* McGrath
* Montara
* Monterey
* Moonlight
* Morro Strand
* Moss Landing
* Natural Bridges
* New Brighton
* Pacifica
* Pelican
* Pescadero
* Pismo
* Point Dume
* Point Sal
* Pomponio
* Refugio
* Robert H. Meyer Memorial
* Salinas River
* San Buenaventura
* San Clemente
* San Elijo
* San Gregorio
* San Onofre
* Santa Monica
* Schooner Gulch
* Seacliff
* Silver Strand
* Sonoma Coast
* South Carlsbad
* Sunset
* Thornton
* Torrey Pines
* Trinidad
* Twin Lakes
* Westport-Union Landing
* Will Rogers
* William Randolph Hearst Memorial
* Zmudowski

Recreation Areas|

* Admiral William Standley
* Auburn
* Austin Creek
* Benbow
* Benicia
* Bethany Reservoir
* Brannan Island
* Candlestick Point
* Castaic Lake
* Colusa-Sacramento River
* Folsom Lake
* Franks Tract
* George J. Hatfield
* Harry A. Merlo
* Kenneth Hahn
* Kings Beach
* Lake Del Valle
* Lake Oroville
* Lake Perris
* Lake Valley
* Martial Cottle
* McConnell
* Millerton Lake
* Picacho
* Providence Mountains
* Salton Sea
* San Luis Reservoir
* Silverwood Lake
* Standish-Hickey
* Tahoe
* Turlock Lake
* Woodson Bridge

Vehicular
Recreation Areas|

* Carnegie
* Clay Pit
* Heber Dunes
* Hollister Hills
* Hungry Valley
* Oceano Dunes
* Ocotillo Wells
* Prairie City

Other|

* Burleigh H. Murray Ranch
* California State Capitol Museum
* California State Mining and Mineral Museum
* California State Railroad Museum
* Castro Adobe
* Delta Meadows
* Estero Bay
* Hatton Canyon
* Indio Hills Palms
* Point Cabrillo Light
* Ishxenta State Park
* Point Montara Light
* Reynolds Wayside Campground
* San Timoteo Canyon
* Stone Lake
* Verdugo Mountains
* Ward Creek
* Wildwood Canyon

National Forests and Grasslands

| National Forests
and Grasslands|

* Angeles
* Butte Valley NG
* Cleveland
* Eldorado
* Humboldt–Toiyabe
* Inyo
* Klamath
* Lake Tahoe Basin
* Lassen
* Los Padres
* Mendocino
* Modoc
* Plumas
* Rogue River–Siskiyou
* San Bernardino
* Sequoia
* Shasta–Trinity
* Sierra
* Six Rivers
* Stanislaus
* Tahoe

|

National Wilderness
Preservation System|

* Agua Tibia
* Ansel Adams
* Bucks Lake
* Caribou
* Carson–Iceberg
* Castle Crags
* Cucamonga
* Desolation
* Dick Smith
* Dinkey Lakes
* Emigrant
* Golden Trout
* Hoover
* Inyo Mountains
* Ishi
* Jennie Lakes
* John Muir
* Kaiser
* Marble Mountain
* Mokelumne
* Mount Lassic
* Mount Shasta
* North Fork
* Pine Creek
* San Gabriel
* San Jacinto
* San Rafael
* Sanhedrin
* Sespe
* Siskiyou
* Snow Mountain
* South Fork Eel River
* South Sierra
* South Warner
* Thousand Lakes
* Trinity Alps
* Ventana
* Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel
* Yuki

National Monuments
and Recreation Areas|

* Giant Sequoia National Monument
* San Gabriel Mountains National Monument
* Sand to Snow National Monument
* Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
* Sáttítla Highlands National Monument
* Smith River National Recreation Area
* Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area

State Forests

* Boggs Mountain Demonstration
* Ellen Pickett
* Jackson Demonstration
* Las Posadas
* LaTour Demonstration
* Mount Zion Demonstration
* Mountain Home Demonstration
* Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges

* Antioch Dunes
* Bitter Creek
* Blue Ridge
* Butte Sink
* Castle Rock
* Clear Lake
* Coachella Valley
* Colusa
* Delevan
* Don Edwards San Francisco Bay
* Ellicott Slough
* Farallon
* Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
* Hopper Mountain
* Humboldt Bay
* Imperial
* Kern
* Lower Klamath
* Marin Islands
* Merced
* Modoc
* Pixley
* Sacramento
* Sacramento River
* Salinas River
* San Diego Bay
* San Diego
* San Joaquin River
* San Luis
* San Pablo Bay
* Seal Beach
* Sonny Bono Salton Sea
* Stone Lakes
* Sutter
* Tijuana Slough
* Tule Lake

State Wildlife Areas

| Wildlife
Areas|

* Antelope Valley
* Ash Creek
* Bass Hill
* Battle Creek
* Big Lagoon
* Big Sandy
* Biscar
* Butte Valley
* Buttermilk Country
* Cache Creek
* Camp Cady
* Cantara/Ney Springs
* Cedar Roughs
* Cinder Flats
* Collins Eddy
* Colusa Bypass
* Coon Hollow
* Cottonwood Creek
* Crescent City Marsh
* Crocker Meadows
* Daugherty Hill
* Decker Island
* Doyle
* Dutch Flat
* Eastlker River
* Eel River
* Elk Creek Wetlands
* Elk River
* Fay Slough
* Feather River
* Fitzhugh Creek
* Fremont Weir
* Grass Lake
* Gray Lodge
* Green Creek
* Grizzly Island
* Hallelujah Junction
* Heenan Lake
* Hill Slough
* Hollenbeck Canyon
* Honey Lake
* Hope Valley
* Horseshoe Ranch
* Imperial
* Indian Valley
* Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains
* Kinsman Flat
* Knoxville
* Laguna
* Lake Berryessa
* Lake Earl
* Lake Sonoma
* Little Panoche Reservoir
* Los Banos
* Lower Sherman Island
* Mad River Slough
* Marble Mountains
* Mendota
* Merrill's Landing
* Miner Slough
* Monache Meadows
* Morro Bay
* Moss Landing
* Mouth of Cottonwood Creek
* Napa-Sonoma Marshes
* North Grasslands
* O'Neill Forebay
* Oroville
* Petaluma Marsh
* Pickel Meadow
* Pine Creek
* Point Edith
* Putah Creek
* Rector Reservoir
* Red Lake
* Rhode Island
* Sacramento River
* San Felipe Valley
* San Jacinto
* San Luis Obispo
* San Luis Reservoir
* San Pablo Bay
* Santa Rosa
* Shasta Valley
* Silver Creek
* Slinkard/Little Antelope
* Smithneck Creek
* South Fork
* Spenceville
* Surprise Valley
* Sutter Bypass
* Tehama
* Truckee River
* Upper Butte Basin
* Volta
* Warner Valley
* Waukell Creek
* West Hilmar
* Westlker River
* White Slough
* Willow Creek
* Yolo Bypass

|

Ecological
Reserves|

* Albany Mudflats
* Alkali Sink
* Allensworth
* Atascadero Creek Marsh
* Bair Island
* Baldwin Lake
* Batiquitos Lagoon
* Blue Sky
* Boden Canyon
* Boggs Lake
* Bolsa Chica
* Bonny Doon
* Buena Vista Lagoon
* Butler Slough
* Butte Creek Canyon
* Butte Creek House
* Buttonwillow
* By Day Creek
* Calhoun Cut
* Canebrake
* Carlsbad Highlands
* Carmel Bay
* Carrizo Canyon
* Carrizo Plains
* China Point
* Clover Creek
* Coachella Valley
* Coal Canyon
* Corte Madera Marsh
* Crestridge
* Dairy Mart Ponds
* Dales Lake
* Del Mar Landing
* Eden Landing
* Elkhorn Slough
* Estelle Mountain
* Fall River Mills
* Fish Slough
* Fremont Valley
* Goleta Slough
* Indian Joe Spring
* Kaweah
* Kerman
* King Clone
* Laguna Laurel
* Loch Lomond Vernal Pool
* Lokern
* Magnesia Spring
* Marin Islands
* Mattole River
* McGinty Mountain
* Morro Dunes
* Morro Rock
* Napa River
* North Table Mountain
* Oasis Spring
* Panoche Hills
* Peytonia Slough
* Phoenix Vernal Pools
* Pine Hill
* Piute Creek
* Pleasant Valley
* Rancho Jamul
* Redwood Shores
* River Springs Lakes
* Saline Valley
* San Dieguito Lagoon
* San Elijo Lagoon
* San Felipe Creek
* San Joaquin River
* Santa Rosa Plateau
* Springville
* Stone Corral
* Sycamore Canyon
* Sycuan Peak
* Thomes Creek
* Tomales Bay
* Upper Newport Bay
* Watsonville Slough
* West Mojave Desert
* Woodbridge
* Yaudanchi

Marine
Protected
Areas|

* Abalone Cove and Point Vicente
* Anacapa Island SMCA
* Año Nuevo
* Arrow Point to Lion Head Point
* Batiquitos Lagoon
* Big Creek
* Bodega Head
* Bolsa Chica
* Cambria
* Campus Point
* Carmel Bay
* Cat Harbor
* Crystal Cove
* Dana Point
* Duxbury Reef
* Edward F. Ricketts
* Elkhorn Slough
* Estero Americano
* Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero
* Estero de San Antonio
* Fagan Marsh
* Famosa Slough
* Farnsworth Onshore and Offshore
* Goleta Slough
* Greyhound Rock
* Lovers Cove and Casino Point
* MacKerricher
* Marin Islands
* Morro Bay
* Naples
* Pacific Grove Marine Gardens
* Painted Cave
* Piedras Blancas
* Point Arena
* Point Buchon
* Point Dume
* Point Reyes
* Point Sur
* Portuguese Ledge
* Pyramid Point
* Robert E. Badham
* Robert W. Crown
* Russian Gulch
* Russian River
* Salt Point
* San Diego-Scripps
* San Dieguito Lagoon
* San Elijo Lagoon
* Saunders Reef
* Sea Lion Cove
* Sonoma Coast
* Soquel Canyon
* South La Jolla
* South Point
* Southeast Farallon Island
* Stewarts Point
* Swami's
* Tijuana River Mouth
* Upper Newport Bay
* Van Damme
* Vandenberg
* White Rock (Cambria)

Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands

| National Monuments|

* Berryessa Snow Mountain
* California Coastal
* Carrizo Plain
* Cascade–Siskiyou
* Chuckwalla
* Fort Ord
* Mojave Trails
* Sand to Snow
* Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains

|

National
Conservation Areas|

* California Desert
* King Range

Wilderness Areas|

* Argus Range
* Big Maria Mountains
* Bigelow Cholla Garden
* Bighorn Mountain
* Black Mountain
* Bright Star
* Bristol Mountains
* Cadiz Dunes
* Carrizo Gorge
* Chanchelulla
* Chemehuevi Mountains
* Chimney Peak
* Chuckwalla Mountains
* Chumash
* Cleghorn Lakes
* Clipper Mountain
* Coso Range
* Coyote Mountains
* Darwin Falls
* Dead Mountains
* Dick Smith
* El Paso Mountains
* Fish Creek Mountains
* Funeral Mountains
* Garcia
* Golden Valley
* Grass Valley
* Headwaters Forest Reserve
* Hollow Hills
* Ibex
* Indian Pass
* Inyo Mountains
* Jacumba
* Kelso Dunes
* Kiavah
* Kingston Range
* Little Chuckwalla Mountains
* Little Picacho
* Machesna Mountain
* Malpais Mesa
* Manly Peak
* Matilija
* Mecca Hills
* Mesquite
* Newberry Mountains
* Nopah Range
* North Algodones Dunes
* North Mesquite Mountains
* Old Woman Mountains
* Orocopia Mountains
* Otay Mountain
* Owens Peak
* Pahrump Valley
* Palen/McCoy
* Palo Verde Mountains
* Picacho Peak
* Piper Mountain
* Piute Mountains
* Red Buttes
* Resting Spring Range
* Rice Valley
* Riverside Mountains
* Rodman Mountains
* Sacatar Trail
* Saddle Peak Hills
* San Gorgonio
* Santa Lucia
* Santa Rosa
* Sawtooth Mountains
* Sespe
* Sheephole Valley
* South Nopah Range
* Stateline
* Stepladder Mountains
* Surprise Canyon
* Sylvania Mountains
* Trilobite
* Turtle Mountains
* Whipple Mountains

National Marine Sanctuaries

* Channel Islands
* Chumash Heritage
* Cordell Bank
* Greater Farallones
* Monterey Bay

National Estuarine Research Reserves

* Elkhorn Slough
* San Francisco Bay
* Tijuana River

University of California Natural Reserve System

* Angelo Coast Range
* Año Nuevo Island
* Blue Oak Ranch
* Bodega Marine
* Box Springs
* Burns Piñon Ridge
* Carpinteria Salt Marsh
* Chickering American River
* Coal Oil Point
* Dawson Los Monos Canyon
* Eagle Lake Field Station
* Elliott Chaparral
* Emerson Oaks
* Fort Ord
* Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest
* Hastings
* James San Jacinto Mountains
* Jepson Prairie
* Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh
* Landels-Hill Big Creek
* Lassen Field Station
* McLaughlin
* Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland
* Motte Rimrock
* Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert
* Point Reyes Field Station
* Quail Ridge
* Rancho Marino
* Sagehen Creek Field Station
* San Joaquin Marsh
* Santa Cruz Island
* Scripps Coastal
* Sedgwick
* Stebbins Cold Canyon
* Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains
* Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert
* Valentine Eastern Sierra
* White Mountain
* Younger Lagoon

Private Conservation Land Trusts

* Agua Hedionda Lagoon
* Arastradero Preserve
* Arroyo Conejo Open Space
* Audubon Canyon Ranch
* Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
* Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area
* Bluff Lake
* Big Sur Land Trust
* California Rangeland Trust
* Catalina Island Conservancy
* Claremont Canyon Conservancy
* Cosumnes River Preserve
* Fairfield Osborn Preserve
* Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
* Pacific Forest Trust
* Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
* Peninsula Open Space Trust
* Pepperwood Preserve
* Sanctuary Forest
* Santa Cruz Island
* Santa Lucia Preserve
* Sempervirens Fund
* Sierra Nevada Alliance
* Sogorea Te Land Trust
* The Nature Conservancy
* Trust for Public Land
* The Wildlands Conservancy

Heritage registers
National Natural Landmarks

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* 2
* Israel

Other|

* NARA

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