Did you know?
- The salt pan on the floor of Death Valley covers more than 200 square miles. It is 40 miles long and more than 5 miles wide
- The highest mountain in Death Valley National Park is 11,049 foot Telescope Peak. The vertical drop from the peak to the Badwater Basin is twice the depth of Grand Canyon
- Telescope Peak was named by Dr. Samuel George in 1861. He named it Telescope Peak because he said you could see so far it reminded him of looking through a telescope
- In 1929, no rain was recorded. From 1931 to 1934, a forty-month period when only 0.64 inches of rain fell
- The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley (Furnace Creek) was 134°F (57°C) on July 10, 1913. During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached 129° F (54°C) or above. Death Valley holds the record for the hottest place on earth.Oddly enough, 1913 was also the year that saw Death Valley's coldest temperature. On January 8 the temperature dropped to 15°F (-10°C) at Furnace Creek.
- Death Valley is home to more than 1000 species of plants and more than 50 of those are endemics, found nowhere else in the world.