Death Valley

By María Ayllón

January 15^th, 2021

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.

The Timbisha name for the valley, tümpisa, means "rock paint" and refers to the red ochre paint that can be made from a type of clay found in the valley.

Panamint Range

The range runs north-south for approximately 100 miles (160 km) through Inyo County, forming the western wall of Death Valley and separating it from the Panamint Valley to the west.

The highest peak in the range is Telescope Peak, with an elevation of 11,049 feet (3,368 m).

Amargosa Range

The Amargosa Range is a mountain range in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada. The 110-mile (180 km) range runs along most of the eastern side of Death Valley, separating it from Nevada's Amargosa Desert. The mountain range is named after the Amargosa River, so-named for the Spanish word for bitter because of the bitter taste of the water

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point is a part of the Amargosa Range. The dark-colored material capping the badland ridges is lava from eruptions that occurred three to five million years ago. This hard lava cap has retarded erosion in many places.

Mosaic Canyon

Mosaic Canyon is a canyon in the north western mountain face of the valley. Mosaic Canyon's polished marble walls are carved from the Noonday Dolomite and other Precambrian carbonate rocks. These rock formation began as limestone deposited during Late Precambrian (about 850-700 million years ago) when the area was covered by a warm sea.

Darwin Falls

Darwin Falls is a waterfall located on the western edge of Death Valley National Park near Panamint Springs.

Darwin Creek is one of the four perennial streams in three million-acre (12,000 km²) Death Valley National Park. Darwin Creek is fed by the Darwin Wash, which is in turn fed by the volcanic tableland of the Darwin Bench between the Inyo Mountains and the Argus Range.

The small, narrow valley where the falls are located features a rare collection of riparian greenery and is home to indigenous fauna such as quail. The falls themselves support several small fern gullys.

Mesquite Flats

The Mesquite Flats are located in central Death Valley near Stovepipe Wells. They are home to the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes.

Although the highest dune rises only about 100 feet, the dunes actually cover a vast area. This dune field includes three types of dunes: crescent, linear, and star shaped. Polygon-cracked clay of an ancient lakebed forms the floor. Mesquite trees have created large hummocks that provide stable habitats for wildlife.

Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic crater in the northern half of Death Valley. The crater is half a mile (one kilometer) wide and 500 to 777 feet (150 to 237 m) deep, and between 2,000 to 7,000 years old

Badwater Basin

Badwater consists of a small spring-fed pool of "bad water" next to the road in a sink; the accumulated salts of the surrounding basin make it undrinkable, thus giving it the name.