DEATH VALLEY

Death Valley National Monument in the Great Basin Desert, California. structural depression in Inyo county, southeastern California, U.S., that is the lowest, hottest, driest portion of the North American continent. Death Valley is about 140 miles (225 km) long, trends roughly north-south, and is from 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km) wide. The valley is bounded on the west by the Panamint Range and on the east by the Black, Funeral, and Grapevine mountains of the Amargosa Range. It lies near the undefined border between the Great Basin and Mojave deserts, although geologically, Death Valley forms part of the southwestern portion of the Great Basin. It is similar to other structural basins of the region but is unique in its depth. Portions of the great salt pan that forms part of the floor of the valley are the lowest land areas of the Americas. About 550 square miles (1,425 square km) of the valley's floor lies below sea level. A point about 4.75 miles (7.64 km) west of Badwater is, at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level, the single lowest area in the Western Hemisphere. Death Valley was formerly an obstacle to movements of pioneer settlers (whence its name was derived) and later was a centre of borax exploitation; its extreme environment now attracts tourists and scientists. The area was declared a national monument in 1933 and was made a national park in 1994.