Cold? If yes, sorry to hear that, but it seems like a perfect time to read about the hottest place in the country. While Austin Adventures has been traveling to Antarctica for some time now, in three short months, it will celebrate the departure of its inaugural trip to California’s Death Valley. It is somewhere that has an abundance of people visiting all year, and is truly an impressive natural structure that leaves people in awe of its large structure and the heat of the environment.
This national park is known for its superlatives (hottest, lowest, driest, etc.) and really proves that America has some great wonders you need to see. The attraction is not as boring as some people may think such as you may be surprised to find out that you can play a round of golf at the aptly-named Furnace Creek. See below for some more surprising facts about the area…
1. 20 Years of Till Death Do Us Part!
In 1994, Congress made this section of the Mojave Desert a national park.
2. Largest in the Lower 48.
Measuring in at a whopping more than 3.4 million acres, Death Valley National Park is the largest national park in the contiguous U.S.
3. Record-Holder for More Than 100 Years.
The highest recorded temperature in Death Valley is 134 degrees Fahrenheit which was measured in July, 1913 and is the highest recorded temperature in the Western Hemisphere.
4. A Year Without Rain.
Death Valley is the driest place in the country. In 1929, not a single drop of rain was recorded.
5. How Low (on land) Can You Go?
Death Valley is home to the country’s lowest point, Badwater Basin, which lies at 282 feet below sea level.
6. Notable Neighbor.
Death Valley is only 80 miles from the highest point in the country, Mount Whitney, which tops out at an elevation of 14,505 feet. In other words, the lowest and highest points in the contiguous U.S. are less than 100 miles apart!
7. Lots of Life.
Death Valley is home to more than 1000 species of plants (including 50 that are found nowhere else in the world), 300 species of birds, 51 species of mammals (including bighorn sheep and mountain lions), 36 species of reptiles and a handful of amphibian and fish species.
8. Humans Call it Home.
Archaeologists have found evidence of human presence in Death Valley that dates back at least 9,000 years! The Timbisha Shoshone Native American Tribe has inhabited Death Valley for the past 1,000 years.
9. Golfers are Welcome!
The Furnace Creek Golf Course at 214 feet below sea level is the world’s lowest golf course and golfers can play 18 holes year-round (although the game is less popular in the height of summer).
10. February is Just Fine!
The average high temperature in February is 72 degrees Fahrenheit and the average low is 46 degrees Fahrenheit – a perfect range for an active adventure vacation! February is also typically the wettest month. On average, it sees .51 inches of rainfall.
Austin Adventures’ first Death Valley adventure vacation departs on February 15, 2015!
~ By Katie Jackson on behalf of Austin Adventures.
