Death valley

Death Valley is located in eastern California, within the northern Mojave Desert, but it is more like under the Mojave Desert, due to the fact that it is the lowest point in all of North America. The unique valley sits 282 feet below sea level, making it one of the most extreme places on the continent. But surprisingly, the heat and temperatures add to the unreal feeling of this place. To think that when walking around the salt flats, there used to be a warm ocean. It's hard to comprehend that this dry, hot, empty desert was once a warm ocean full of life.

Salt flats

Fun fact: Death Valley is the dryest place on earth with 2 inches (5 cm) of rain annually.

Death Valley's oldest rocks are estimated to be at least 1.7 billion years old, but some of the newer formations (500 million years old) located in the "Funeral and Panamint Mountains" are made up of limestone and sandstone, which proves that there used to be a shallow, warm ocean within that area.

As the sea receded, it carved the mountains into unique structures, leaving behind salty lakes in which the water evaporated due to the receding ocean and dry environment. One of these salt lakes was called Lake Manly, and this lake dried out and left minerals and salt that make Badwater Basin so famous. There are many salt flats, but Badwater is famous for its negative elevation of -282 feet (282 feet below sea level). But despite that, due to erosion, it has more than "11,000 feet of accumulated sediment and salts" spread out across the basin floor.

The geography and history are amazing, but the thing that mostly brings the tourists is the salt, golden hour, and sunsets. The sunsets in this place are arguably one of the best in the region. The crunching of the salt under your feet and the weirdly shaped mountains lit up yellow while the sky is purple/blue paint one of the most interesting pictures in the USA.

Zabriskie point in Death Valley.

Weather:

The hottest and driest desert in the USA has extreme summer heat, and it is not recommended to hike after 10 am during the summer.  In fact, it is so hot that on the salt flats, we saw someone fry an egg almost instantly on the ground, plus it was seasoned by the salt. There is no service in most of the park, so be prepared. But this makes the time for sunrises and sunsets perfect. Make sure to prepare a couple gallons of water per person if you are planning on camping and staying there overnight.

Note: Cars do NOT handle the heat well, be prepared for any situation.

Most information comes from the National Park Service website for Death Valley: Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)