Death Valley National Park: Enchanting Landscapes and Abundant Wildlife Await Those Who Can Withstand the Heat

Jeff Perkin for American Essence

“We knew that men had died down there in the shimmering heat of that white floor…and yet we saw it covered with a mantle of such strange beauty that we felt it was the noblest thing we had ever imagined. Only a poet could express the emotion of beauty, stronger than fear and death, that held us silent moment after moment.” Edna Brush Perkins (“The White Heart of Mojave” 1922)

America’s largest National Park is a severe and majestic wilderness. The desert park’s grim name serves as a precautionary tale to all who visit there, and not without reason. Once measured at 134° F, Death Valley National Park holds the record for the hottest place on Earth. Despite its heat and aridity, the park is home to over 1,000 species of plants and over 400 animal species that are adapted to its extremes. Covering over three million acres, the park has many surprises that contradict its sinister name. Its historic past and mineral wealth played a dramatic part in the story of the American west. Today, it is a place for recreation and inspiration where visitors can explore its vast, silent landscapes and natural wonders that were made accessible by the hard work of many who came before us.

The Gold Rush that Became Ghost Towns

Gold was discovered in California in 1848 which led to a period of mass migration and mining. Over a century and a half later, Death Valley National Park is now home to over 10,000 mine features, more than 2,000 of which are considered “potentially hazardous openings.” The last of Death Valley’s mines ceased operations in 2005 after the Mining in the Parks Act of 1976 ended the opportunity to file for new claims. At its peak, towns such as Rhyolite in the Death Valley area were producing up to 300 tons of gold ore in a single day. Tens of thousands of tons of gold and silver ore were removed from the Death Valley area in the early 1900s. The booms eventually went bust leading mines to close down and thereby displacing thousands of inhabitants. Scarce ruins of these “ghost towns” remain as they were slowly subsumed by the surrounding desert.