Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48 states (3.4 million acres), and the hottest, driest and lowest U.S. national park. The lowest point in the park is in Badwater Basin (see below). Death Valley was declared a national monument in 1933 and became a national park in 1994. The park is famous for its borax deposits which were mined in the park up until 2005. The park was popularized in radio and TV shows such as "Death Valley Days" sponsored by Pacific Coast Borax Company (20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo). I managed to cram a lot of sightseeing into my first trip to Death Valley in March of 2019. Hopefully it won't be my last because I still need to tour Scotty's Castle, hike the Golden Canyon, visit the borax works and 20 mule team displays, explore the west side of the valley, etc.

Park entrance sign

Corkscrew Peak

Park Facilities

There are several entry points into the park with CA SR 190 being the major road through the park. There are 3 villages in the park offering a range of visitor services, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs. Furnace Creek is the largest and most centrally located of the three and has the main visitor center, Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Two very nice (expensive) lodges are located in or near Furnace Creek, The Ranch at Death Valley (formerly Furnace Creek Resort) and The Inn at Death Valley.

Grapevine Ranger Station

Furnace Creek
Minus elevation

Furnace Creek Visitor Center

Display

Visitor center

Information desk

Park topo map

The Ranch at Death Valley

The Inn at Death Valley

Garden Patio

Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic crater in the northern end of Death Valley. Hot magma superheated gound water and flashed it into steam under intense pressure. The result was a massive explosion that shattered the rock above and left a crater some 700 feet deep and a half mile across. There are actually 13 overlapping craters of which Ubehebe is the largest. The volcano is thought to have formed 2100 years ago. Ubehebe is a Paiute Indian word that translates to something like "big basket in the rock".

Descriptive sign

Ubehebe Crater

Not Little Hebe Crater

Hikers in the crater

View from Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range located on the east side of Death Valley. This is an area of vividly colored, eroded badlands that formed millions or years before Death Valley became Death Valley. A short hike up to the viewing terrace is rewarded with views of other-worldly terrain.

Manly Beacon (center-left) Red Cathedral (center-right)

Manly Beacon

Red Cathedral

Interpretive sign

What's in the interpretive sign

Furnace Creek Formation

Panamint Mountains (background)
Gower Gulch (center right foreground)

Interpretive sign

What's in the interpretive sign
(Minus the auto)

Dante's View

Dante's View is located on the north side of Coffin Peak along the crest of the Black Mountains. At 5,476 feet, the terrace at Dante's View is a great spot from which to photograph the panorama of Death Valley and the mountains to the west. The Panamint Range lies directly to the west across Badwater Basin, with the Owlshead Mountains to the south and the Funeral Mountains to the north. Dante's View is also a great vantage point for viewing the night sky. Bring binoculars or a telescope.

Road to Dante's View

Another topo map

Telescope Peak

Dark skies at Death Valley

Basin and Range

Amargosa River descriptive sign

Death Valley and Panamint Range - suitable for framing

View south from Dante's View

Leo and his JETBOIL

Death Valley panorama from Dante's View

Devil's Golf Course

The Devil's Golf Course is a large salt pan composed of jagged salt crystal mounds that look like an alien coral reef. The salt crystal formations are all that's left of Lake Manly that evaporated 2000 years ago. The salt formations are sculpted into fantastic shapes through natural weathering processes. Most of the salt is sodium chloride.

Devil's Golf Course

Devil's Golf Course panorama

Devil's Golf Course

Devil's Golf Course Mashup

Salt crystals

View east from Devil's Golf Course

Natural Bridge

The natural bridge hike is 2 miles out and back in the bottom of a small narrow canyon. There are two rock ledges to scramble up along the way, but the rest of the hike is across flat ground. The natural bridge is about a third of a mile in and makes a good stopping point for the less adventurous hiker.

Parking area at Natural Bridge
Panamint Mountains in background

The natural bridge

Natural bridge flip side

Tiny side canyon

Hiking the canyon

First rock ledge

Slight obstacle

Stephanie can't budge it

Second rock ledge

End of the line

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The basin has extensive salt flats up to 5 feet thick that formed after Manly Lake dried up some thousands of years ago. The salt flats are composed of about 95% table salt (NaCl). Repeated freeze-thaw-evaporation cycles form the salt crust into honeycomb shapes. Badwater Pool, located near Badwater Road, is about 4 times saltier than the ocean which makes is undrinkable, hence the name.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Pool

But It's a Dry Heat...

Earth's Lowest

Birth of Death Valley

282 feet below sea level

Badwater Basin

Salt nodules
Could be a coin upper left

Badwater Salt Flats

Stephanie
On the way to the salt flats

Pothole along the way

Out on the salt flats

Badwater Salt Flat panorama

Salt honeycomb patterns

Salt patterns

Salt crystals

Artist's Drive

Artist's Drive is a 9.7 mile one-way paved road that winds through the Artist Drive Formation on the east side of Death Valley. There are a variety of colors in the Artist Drive and Furnace Creek Formations. Brick-reds, pinks, and various shades from golden to pale yellow are due to iron hematites and oxides. The green tuff is volcanic ash. There are a few pullouts along the drive that afford good views of the multicolored rock formations.

View from first pullout

Hiking back to the parking area

View from Artist's Palette pullout

A smaller view

Terrain at Artist's Palette

Dashcam - portion of Artist's Drive