Death Valley, located within the Mojave Desert, boasts the distinction of being the lowest and hottest spot in the United States. From the Panamint and Armargosa mountain ranges, Death Valley descends to its lowest point, 282 feet below sea level, near the area referred to as Badwater Basin.

The valley floor maintains sweltering temperatures in the summer due to the compression of hot air from the nearby Nevada desert forced downward into the valley. The highest temperature, recorded in 1913, reached a scorching 134 degrees Fahrenheit, only two degrees cooler than the world record held by Libya.

Archaeological evidence suggests humans first inhabited the area around 10,000 years ago. More recently, the Timbisha Shoshone dwelled in the valley as nomads, subsisting off pine nuts, mesquite beans, and small game and migrated into the nearby mountains during the hot summer seasons to escape the intolerable summer heat of the valley floor.

During the 19th Century, the discovery of gold, silver, and borax created boomtowns in the region as prospectors arrived to extract the minerals. However, many of these towns disappeared when speculators and miners realized the cost of extracting the materials and sending them to market outweighed the minerals' worth.

On February 11, 1933 during the Great Depression, the United States Government declared Death Valley a national monument. Over the next nine years, the Civilian Conservation Corps completed projects in Death Valley including the construction of 500 miles of road, 76 buildings, and numerous trails leading to nearby points of interest. The U.S. Government designated Death Valley as a National Park in 1994 and in 2009, appropriated approximately $750 million for road improvements and other infrastructure improvements.

Despite its recognition as one of the most uninhabitable regions in the United States, Death Valley's story ranges from millions of years of geologic history to more modern tales of human perseverance in the face of natural resistance. Today, the Death Valley National Park stands as a monument to America's diverse natural landscape.