Death Valley National Park

 

 


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The name of this park conjures up bad images in peoples minds. We have even taken people who have lived their entire lives in Southern California to the park that had never gone there, because of the name. We have probably been to the park at least a dozen times and find it quite beautiful. The park is huge at 5,270 square miles (3.4 million acres) and is the largest park in the lower 48 states. The park ranges in elevation from 11,049 ft at Telescope peak to -282 feet below sea level at Bad Water Basin. The park is about 140 miles long.

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There are a lot of interesting things to see in the park from Artists Palette, the charcoal kilns, Scotties Castle, Titus Canyon drive, Devils Golf Course and many more. On this particular day it was about 115 degrees. Death Valley holds the record for the highest air temperature on the planet: On 10 July 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F). Yeowsa that is hot. The busiest time of year for the park is between Christmas and New Years.

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