Death Valley National Park

Although I grew up in Southern California, this is my first visit to Death Valley: my twentieth national park this year. Native Americans inhabited the valley as early as 7,000 BC, but it was European-Americans searching for a shortcut to the California gold fields in 1849 that gave it the iconic name of Death Valley. Since that date, mining has been prominent in the valley for such resources as gold, silver, lead, zinc, and borax. Established as a national monument in 1933, it was the CCC that improved the area by creating roads, trails, buildings, and camps up until the onset of WWII. The establishment of Death Valley National Park in 1994 set aside over 3.4 million acres (93% of which is designated wilderness) making it the largest national park outside of Alaska.

Death Valley National Park is a place of extremes. The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134.4°F in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. During the summer of 2024, Death Valley National Park experienced the hottest meteorological summer (June-August) on record, with an average 24-hour temperature of 104.5°F. Death Valley is not only hot, it is also extremely dry with only 2.2 inches of rain falling on the park annually. However, destructive storms are becoming far more frequent resulting in massive flooding and roads being washed out.

At 282 feet below sea level, the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is the lowest point in North America. The name originates from the pool of natural spring water that is tainted by the nearby salt flats. Early explores of Death Valley were disappointed to find the rare water source non-potable and began calling it “bad water”. The source of Badwater’s salt is Death Valley’s drainage system of 9,000 square miles. Rain falling on distant peaks creates floods which rush to this low point. Along the way, the floods dissolve minerals in the rocks and carry it to this basin which can form temporary lakes. As the water evaporates, minerals concentrate until only the salt remains. After thousands of years, enough salts have washed into the Badwater Basin to create a thick layer of salt as far as the eyes can see.

Although steeped in legend, the frenzied search for gold and other minerals in Death Valley produced few fortunes. The most profitable mineral in the valley turned out to be borax, the “White Gold of the Desert”. The Harmony Borax Works operated in Death Valley between 1883 to 1888 and was one of the more successful operations. Built in 1882 by San Francisco businessman William T. Coleman, the Harmony Borax Works was built to refine the borax which was scrapped off the salt flats. In order to transport the borax to market, a 20-mule train was employed to haul 36 tons of borax 165 miles over the desert to the railroad tracks. Even to this day, the 20-mule train is the symbol of the borax industry. So, what is borax? Borates are salt minerals that were deposited in ancient lake beds and uplifted to the surface by geological uplifting. Water dissolves the borates and carries them to the Death Valley floor where they recrystallize into borax. It has many uses including a natural cleaner, laundry booster, cosmetics, pesticides, and even used to make children’s slime-like putty. The last mining operation, the Billie Mine located along the Dante’s View Road, ceased operations in 2005.

Throughout Death Valley there is evidence of the violent geological forces that created the landscape in the form of craters. Rising magma – hot, molten rock – came into contact with ground water and turned into steam. Intense steam pressure built up under the molten rock until the superheated combination exploded creating craters. The largest of these is the Ubehebe Crater on the north side of the park which was formed as result of a violent explosion a mere 2,000 years ago. The Ubehebe Crater measures a half-mile wide and is 500 feet deep. The explosion that created the crater spewed shattered rock over a six-square-mile-area, in some areas to depths of 150 feet. Today, you can drive to the Ubehebe Crater and hike around the 1.5-mile circumference of the rim.

An abundance of sand and strong winds in Death Valley creates sand dunes where there are natural wind breaks in the valley. The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells Village sprawl for 14 square miles on the valley floor with the tallest dune rising to 100 feet.

Popular stop for spectacular views of Death Valley’s Badlands can be found at Zabriskie Point. The point is named after Christian B. Zabriskie who was general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax company and oversaw operations in Death Valley during the transition from mining to tourism.

Dantes View standing on the spine of the Black Mountains offers spectacular views of Death Valley from 5,000 feet over the valley floor. A series of alternating and parallel north-south trending mountains and valleys forms what geologists call the Basin and Range Geologic Province. It stretches from Utah to California and Idaho to Mexico.

Albert M. Johnson was a Chicago millionaire whose family made their fortune in the insurance industry. Although he was financially secure, Johnson was bored with his life and sought excitement to spice things up. Along came Walter E. Scott who was a little of a cowboy, entertainer, and a lot of a swindler. He had spent time as a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and was known to be a teller of tall tales. When the two men met in 1904, Scott was searching for investors in his “gold mine” located in Death Valley and Johnson was all too eager to be part of the exciting enterprise. Although there was never a return on his investment nor any gold ever produced, Johnson continued to financially back Scott and the two men became good friends. Despite being a very well-respected businessman and religious leader, Johnson enjoyed the stories and escapades of Scott, and was willing to overlook his less than ethical business practices.

After visiting and enjoying their camping trips out to Death Valley with Scott as a guide, Albert Johnson decided to build his wife, Bessie, a palatial Spanish-style villa in Death Valley. Construction began in 1922 on a retreat named Death Valley Ranch at a cost between $1.5 and $2.5 million. The villa had all the modern amenities of the day like electricity, indoor plumbing, and refrigeration. The onset of the Great Depression put a halt to construction in 1933 and some things like the gigantic swimming pool were never completed. Scott, known to locals as Death Valley Scotty, was given a room in the villa by the Johnsons and continued to receive a salary. As tourism began to rise in the desert, the Johnsons opened their spacious home to guests by offering lodging, dinning, and tall tales by Death Valley Scotty himself.

Scotty often told visitors that the villa was funded by his successful gold mine which he claimed had a hidden entrance under his bed. He told tale tales of booby traps and secret tunnels under the property to protect his vast fortune. The Johnsons didn’t seem to mind that people thought the villa was Scotty’s for they were modest people and really didn’t like flaunting their wealth…Scotty had no such modesty. Guests began calling the property “Scotty’s Castle” and the original name of Death Valley Ranch was lost. After the death of Bessie in 1943, Albert Johnson had little interest in running and living at the villa. He established the Gospel Foundation to manage the property and following his death in 1948 they took ownership with the condition that Scotty maintain his room and salary. The legendary Death Valley Scotty died in 1954 and is buried on a hill overlooking the property. The Gospel Foundation declared bankruptcy in 1970 and sold the historic property to the National Park Service for $850,000.

On the night of October 18, 2015, a historic storm hit Grapevine Canyon in Death Valley dumping over a year’s worth of rain in hours. A four-foot wall of water and mud swept down Grapevine Canyon and through the Scotty’s Castle property The main house suffered moderate water damage, but several of the outbuilding were destroyed, the pool filled with mud, and the access road was unpassable. Since 2015, the park service and volunteers have been working to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the flood so that the historic home can be toured again. I was able to tour the outside of the property under the supervision of the park service which is offering limited tours during the construction period. Unfortunately, due to the rodent infestation of the interior of the home and risk of the hantavirus, I was unable to take a look inside. The National Park Service hopes to reopen Scotty’s Castle to tours in late 2026.

The ghost town of Rhyolite is located just outside of Death Valley National Park near Beatty, Neveda. The town was named after the predominant rock in the area, rhyolite, and gold was discovered in the area in 1904. The town of Rhyolite was founded in 1905 and within a year it was a bustling, modern town with indoor plumbing, electricity, and other luxuries. The dream was short lived with the boom lasting less than six years and by 1910 people were leaving Rhyolite and the mines were closing. During its peak, between 5,000-8,000 people lived in Rhyolite which had 3 railroads, 50 saloons, 18 grocery stores, 19 boarding houses, and 8 doctors.

Today, most of the town of Rhyolite is gone but there are still a few prominent structures standing, most notable the Las Vegas & Tonopah Railroad Depot which was completed in 1908. The depot is one of the finest examples of the Mission Revival architecture in the state of Neveda and included separate waiting rooms for gentleman and ladies, a baggage room, freight office, and living accommodations for depot workers. Within months of the completion of the depot, more people were leaving Rhyolite by train than were arriving. Following the collapse of mining in Rhyolite, the rails were salvaged in 1919 and the depot was left as one of the remaining symbols of the boom years. Beginning in 1937, the depot found new life as the Rhyolite Ghost Casino with gaming, drinking, and reported ladies of the evening upstairs. With the onset of WWII and rationing of fuel, tourism died and the depot was abandoned for good.

The main business district of Rhyolite was on Golden Street and there are still some reminders of the town’s past glory standing. The Porter Brothers’ Store on Golden Street opened in 1906 and was a very popular shopping destination in town, actually being the second largest employer outside the mines. At Christmas time, the Porter Brothers’ Store was the go-to destination and was known for its elaborate window displays that rivaled the big cities. The Overbury Building was a large three-story general-purpose building on Golden Street that was the biggest stone structure in town when it opened in 1907. As one of the more prominent commercial hubs in town, it was equipped with fireproof shutters, an automatic fire suppression system, and private bathrooms. The Overbury Building housed a stock brokerage firm, the First National Bank of Rhyolite, a dentist, and attorneys’ offices. The Cook Bank is the most iconic building in Rhyolite and the most photographed ruins in Neveda. Built in 1907, the Cook Bank was one of four banks in Rhyolite, but by far the finest. It was constructed with poured concrete and was three-stories tall with a post office in the basement. The interior was finished with marble staircases and mahogany accents along with all the modern amenities like electricity and running water. A financial crisis in 1907, known as the Knickerboxer Crises, caused bank failures throughout the country including Cook Bank which closed in 1910. Since the abandonment of the town, numerous films and television series have used the ghost town as a movie set.