Inhospitable, harsh, arid, torrid. Four common words people use to describe Death Valley. While all apt to some degree, people who have been to Death Valley often choose other words to illustrate the notable and infamous California desert. Words like awesome, extraordinary, unimaginable and beautiful.

What may seem on the surface to be dissimilar depictions of Death Valley actually share a lot in common. Those who venture to the desert know that the peerless allure of the place is precisely in the formidable challenge it presents to all forms of life who dare cross and brave it. Such is the case in a landscape that regularly shoulders the burden of temperatures in excess of 120°F.

In fact, while no other location in North America is as hot, dry or below sea level as Death Valley, California, few others on the planet can compete with the desert on all three fronts. Were it not for Al ‘Aziziyah, Libya, the world record high temperature would have been in Death Valley in 1913, with a brutal 134°F day that year in notorious Furnace Creek.

So why then, in a place that had over forty days of 120°F weather in the summer of 1996, do people come to Death Valley? Why do people run ultramarathons here in July? For the challenge and the rarity of the landscape, apparently.

Simply put, there is no other place in North America like Death Valley. In one of the best examples of basin and range topography on the planet, the desert landscape belies a phenomenal wealth of not just landscape features, but fauna and flora as well. All this a mere 123 km east of Mount Whitney in Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest, with a summit no other mountain peak can beat on the continental United States.

Despite the ostensible hostile environment of Death Valley, the Timbisha native tribe has made a home in the desert for over 1,000 years. Apparently, for the Timbisha people at least, the term “death” need not apply to the land they have overcome for the past millenium. Every desert after all, has oases.

So while wildflowers do bloom in Death Valley throughout the spring months, the intense and oppressive summer heat makes way for less obvious indications of life. The Death Valley National Park website, in tandem with officials at the park, advises against much more than a cursory vehicular tour of the 13,630 square kilometre wilderness from May until September, when the average daytime temperature can approach 110°F.

However, visitors who want to witness the incredible landscape transformation in the summer months still come and frequent Death Valley’s non-natural points of interest as well, from ghost towns to once prolific gold mines. The National Park, whose limits encompass the vast majority of Death Valley, is full of wonderful attractions.

Those who want to gaze at and appreciate the idyllic scenery of Death Valley wisely restrict visits to autumn and winter. In the relative cool of both seasons, thousands of people camp out under the stars in the desert – there are nine campgrounds spread out over the park, especially in the weeks that lead up to and follow Christmas.

Autumn and spring visitors can take advantage of ranger-guided tours of Death Valley National Park and should certainly pay a visit to the excellent and informative Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Museum. The best feature of Death Valley however, is the adaptive wildlife, from bobcats to cougars, mule deer to coyotes and much, much more. All, in addition to the more than 1,000 types of plants in Death Valley, thrive in the desert environment. Take the right precautions and you too, as a tourist in Death Valley, California, can as well.

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