America 2014!!: Death Valley

The next big on the trip is Las Vegas, where we arrive tomorrow (Saturday 30 August), however before we get there we first have to travel through Death Valley...

Death Valley is officially the hottest place on Earth, with the hottest ever temperature (of 57C) recorded in the valley in 1913, the driest place in the USA (average annual rainfall is less than 2 inches per year and some years none) and houses the lowest point in North America (Badwater Basin, which is 382 feet below sea level).

It was a scorcher, as you would expect, with temperatures reaching up to 48C - not too pleasant!

Dantes View

This is a viewing point that gives a great overview of the valley, showing the high points (the mountains) and the low points (Badwater Basin)...

The mountains and valleys arise due to the region being stretched out and pulled apart by the plate tectonics in the area. As the crust of the Earth is stretched, it cracks and breaks into blocks which subsequently slide against one another resulting in steep peaks and slanted valleys. Sediment then settles in the low places which has the effect of softening and levelling valleys giving the basin.

View of Death Valley. Badwater Basin is directly in the centre of this picture

Further view of Death Valley

The valley itself is vast

Dave with the valley in the background

Same picture but with me instead of Dave

View of the valley, including Badwater Basin

The road used to access this mountain viewpoint can be seen in this picture. Its fair to say the roads to access this point were somewhat steep!

Badwater Basin

This is the basin of Death Valley, as you might expect from the name.

Badwater basin is below sea level. Me and Dave had had enough of being in photos so asked this couple to take our place.

Badwater Pool, a salt water pool. The pool is filled by ancient water which gives a steady supply year-round. Much of the water began life as Ice Age snow and rain hundreds of miles away in central Nevada. The run-off then seeped into porous limestone bedrock and began a long underground journey before emerging here along the fault line at the base of the mountain. Salts dissolve from old deposits and flow to the surface, making the water 'Bad' (i.e. non-drinkable)

Badwater basin Salt Flats. The source of these salts is Death Valley's drainage system of 9,000 square miles. Rain falling on distant peaks creates floods that rush to the lowest point available, Badwater Basin. Along the way minerals from rocks dissolve and join the flood, here in the basin the floods come to rest and form temporary lakes. As the water subsequently evaporates, minerals concentrate until only salt remains. After this process operating over thousands of years, enough salts have washed in to produce layers of salt crust

Another picture of the salt flats

The view from the basin up to Dantes View which is on top of this mountain. If you look carefully around the centre of the mountain face there is a sign post noting sea level.

Zanbriskie Point

This is one of the most popular attractions in the valley, having attracted tourists since the 1930s. The badlands that can be seen from this point show evidence of a cool, lush lake setting when, millions of years ago, the lake was full of water. The yellows and tans of the badlands were once layers of sand and silt at the bottom of an ancient lake while the colourful streaks in the badlands and the canyon walls came from a period of volcanic eruptions that flung lava, hot mud and ash into the lake. The formations that can be seen below are the result of seismic activity tilting and pressuring the floor of the ancient valley upwards. The distinctive channels are formed by periodic rainstorms causing powerful gullywashers that erode the rock into the landscape that can be seen below...

View of the badlands

Further view of the badlands, with the mountains of Death Valley in the background

Dave next to the badlands

Me next to the badlands

Devils Golf Course

The area known as the Devils golf course is located in the basin of Death Valley. It is an area that features crystallised salt jagged formations that were deposited by ancient salt lakes in the valley that have subsequently been shaped by wind and rain. This salt pan is one of the largest such in North America and more salt is deposited by recurring floods that occasionally submerge the lowest areas of the valley floor.