Death Valley in California: the hottest place in the world

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The Death Valley is one of the best-known places in the USA. This national park has different records, although the best known is that of being the warmest place in the world.

We tell you everything about the California Death Valley, the hottest place on the planet.

California Death Valley features

The Death Valley in the United States, as its name indicates, is a desert valley that is located in the State of California, in the southwest of the USA.

It has an area of 7,800 square kilometers and a length of about 225 kilometers from north to south.

It is located inside the Death Valley National Park and as a curiosity, you have to know that this national park is the biggest in the USA, only behind those in the State of Alaska.

Another curiosity of the “Valle de la Muerte” is that there we can find the lowest point in all of North America. The Amargosa River basin is responsible for this record. It is a small pool of water, known as Badwater Basin, which has its lowest point at -86 meters below sea level.

Where is Death Valley in California

It is located very close to Las Vegas, about 200 kilometers west of the city, so it must be one of your mandatory Las Vegas activities.

In addition, it is located in the Mojave Desert, which in turn, is within the “Parque Nacional del Valle de la Muerte”.

Although there are countless national parks in the United States, visitors consider Death Valley National Park as one of the best national parks in the entire United States.

Temperature in Death Valley in the USA

Scientists claim that the Valley of Death is the hottest and driest place in the world.

Although there are several historical records of the maximum temperature reached, the truth is that these data are not official, as it is believed that they were badly measured.

In contrast, at 2020, California’s Death Valley recorded a new official worldwide temperature record. On August 16, 2020, the thermometer reached 54.4°C!, breaking the previous record held by this same place.

Despite this, the nights are not so hot throughout the year. There are times in the Valley when it reaches 0ºC.

Curiosities of the Death Valley in California

Star Wars shooting

The American Death Valley has been present in many films throughout history. But if we want to highlight any of them, that is without a doubt Star Wars.

The film “Episode IV: A New Hope”, was set in this place. There, scenes in the desert were shot, as it could not be otherwise.

The gold rush in the Valley of Death in the United States

The famous Gold Rush also passed through the Valley of Death.

In the early 20th century, Death Valley was known to be an easy place to find and extract some minerals. But after an excursion by two adventurers, they found a a large amount of gold.

From this point on, many were the ones who went looking for gold. Different mines were opened and some cities were created in the area.

Nowadays, we can still find some of these mines totally open, being a danger for those who dare to enter them.

Stones racetrack

Famous is also the phenomenon of the racetrack, stones in the desert that move by themselves. This fact, which surprised us all, has its own scientific explanation.

It has to do with the weather conditions of the place. There are seasons in which small plates of ice form in the soil in the Valley of Death, which could make the rocks float on the mud, causing them to move with the wind.

And as a result of this, we would have images of these rocks that are leaving their mark along the valley. Without a doubt, one of the most iconic images of Death Valley.

Do you want to know more about this place? Do you dare to visit it in the hot season?