Is Death Valley Sinking?

Death Valley's landscape has been changing for millions of years. It is changing now, and will continue to change long after we have departed. Erosion slowly carves away at the ancient rock formations, reshaping the surface of the land. The basin continues to subside and the mountains rise ever higher.



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At 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level, Death Valley might be expected to be filled with water. But the desert is subject to a rain shadow effect, as humid air masses traveling east from the Pacific Ocean must cross four mountain ranges before they reach the desert valley.

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At Badwater, significant rainstorms flood the valley bottom periodically, covering the salt pan with a thin sheet of standing water. Each newly-formed lake does not last long though, because the 1.9 inches of average rainfall is overwhelmed by a 150-inch annual evaporation rate.

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Official records note 0.5 inches of snow fell on Death Valley in the deserts of California on Jan. 29, 1922. The records go back to 1911. The National Weather Service said there have been half a dozen times since 1922 that snow has been observed in the park, but all accumulations have never reached above a trace.

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Southern California hiker, 71, dies after trek in blistering Death Valley heat. DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California outdoor enthusiast died Tuesday after collapsing following an hours-long hike in Death Valley National Park, the world's hottest place.

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Located on the border of California and Nevada, Death Valley National Park was designated in 1933, and is home to one of the world's strangest phenomena: rocks that move along the desert ground with no gravitational cause. Known as sailing stones, the rocks vary in size from a few ounces to hundreds of pounds.

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At 282 feet (86 m) below sea level at its lowest point, Badwater Basin on Death Valley's floor is the second-lowest depression in the Western Hemisphere (behind Laguna del Carbón in Argentina), while Mount Whitney, only 85 miles (137 km) to the west, rises to 14,505 feet (4,421 m) and is the tallest mountain in the ...

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20 rainfall record was measured — gets 2.15 inches in an entire year, said Death Valley park ranger Elyscia Letterman. Higher amounts fell in the mountains in the park. At Hunter Mountain, 5.6 inches of rain was measured, Lamar said. Rain has always been a part of Death Valley's story, Letterman said.

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Devils Hole itself is a water-filled cavern cut into the side of a hill. The cavern is over 500 feet (152 m) deep and the bottom has never been mapped. Devils Hole provides its resident pupfish with conditions of constant temperature (92°F, 33°C) and salinity, unlike the fluctuating environments of many other pupfish.

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At 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level, Death Valley, California, is one of the hottest, driest places on the planet.

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