How did death valley get its name?

Death Valley

Death valley was named in 1849 but the survivors of a party of prospectors, many of whom died of heat and thirst while looking for gold in the valley.  The hottest, driest and lowest place in the United States is Death Valley.  Death Valley is a desert basin that lies mostly in Southern California.

Death Valley is about 140 miles long and 4 to 16 miles wide.  About 500 square miles of the valley are below sea level, including the lowest spot in North America (282 feet below sea lever near Bad Water).

Only about two inches of rain fall on Death Valley’s wastelands each year and the scorching heat has reached 134 degree in the shade—a record high temperature in the United States.  Despite the burning hear many kinds of plants thrive here, such as mesquite and desert holly.  You can find coyotes, rabbits, rattlesnakes, birds and many other creatures living here, too. – Dick Rogers