DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK By Karl Krusel Death Valley National park Location on US map Death Valley National Park is located in California and near the Sierra Nevada, between the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts of the United States. Map of Death Valley National Park Topography map of Death Valley Death Valley becomes a National Park The initial attraction to Death Valley was mining for minerals and precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, and tungsten. Tourism followed in the 1920s when there where vacation homes built around Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. Death valley greatly expanded and became a national park on Oct 31, 1994. Environment of Death Valley Death valley is known for extreme temperature and little rain. Average summer temperatures are 114 and winter is 65 degrees. Death Valley can be windy, causing dust storms and sometimes wind pushes pollution from metropolitan areas over to the park. Death valley doesn't have many inhabitants but it has some ghost towns and abandoned mines. The mines are dangerous as they have poison gasses, they also have flash floods and extreme heat, 24 people died last year from heat. (maybe thats how Death Valley got its name?) Landmarks in Death Valley NP Death Valley National Park has 3.4 million acres of desert and mountains, the largest national park in the US. Many people think of Death Valley as a place where there is only heat and sweat but it does have a castle and dried up lakes and a big lake with salt icebergs called Bad Water. There is also an dried salt lake know as the Racetrack with unique sailing stones Badwater Scottys castle The Racetrack ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE A PERMIT AIRCRAFT & AIR DELIVERY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AUDIO DISTURBANCES BACKCOUNTRY CABINS BACKCOUNTRY CAMPING BICYCLES CAMPGROUNDS CAMPFIRES CLOSURES COMMERCIAL USE FEES FIREWORKS & EXPLOSIVES FOOD GATHERING GEOCACHING HITCHHIKING HORSES & PACK ANIMALS LIVESTOCK USE MEMORIALIZATION METAL DETECTORS PETS PROSPECTING, MINING & MINERAL LEASING PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES & MEETINGS RESOURCES PRESERVATION ROADS & VEHICLE USE ROCK CLIMBING & CANYONEERING SANDBOARDING & SKIING SANITATION & REFUSE SKATING, SKATEBOARDS & SIMILAR DEVICES SMOKING SPECIAL EVENTS SWIMMING & BATHING UNATTENDED PROPERTY WEAPONS & HUNTING WINTER ACTIVITIES Death valley doesn't have that many workers the just have a ton of rules so its based off the honor system here are some of the rule category's they even have one on metal detectors. Park Rules Technology in Death Valley- Automotive Temperature Testing Death Valley is the mecca for automotive engineers needing to verify car capability in temperature extremes. Death Valley National Park, provides the ideal proving ground to test cars in the highest temperatures in the USA. The scorching conditions draw automotive engineers from around the world to validate engines, transmissions and air conditioners for extreme heat performance. Death valley was once was a ancient sea. Time passed and the sea began to recede as land was pushed up due to movement occurring far beneath the Earths surface. The next phase in Death Valleys development was by volcanic activity. As fault movement and mountain building stretched the land surface, the crust was weakened. Hot, molten material beneath the surface welled up and erupted at these weak points. The death valley surface got pulled apart causing large blocks of land to slowly slide past one another along faults, forming alternating valleys and mountain ranges. Then there is erosion, where gravel, sand and silt traveled from surrounding hills and deposited on the valley floor. Formation of Death Valley Geology of Death Valley NP Agate Amethyst Calcite Chalcedony Copper Diamonds Fluorite Geodes Gold Halite Jade Kyanite Malachite Opal Quartz Petrified wood Silver Spodume Topaz Tourmaline Turquoise Death valley geology consists of one type of rock that is 1.8 billion-year-old. The region is mainly metamorphic, made by the physical or chemical change by heat and pressure of an existing igneous or sedimentary material into a thicker form. Within the metamorphic rock a multitude of minerals can be found (to the right list of minerals ) Unique Feature in Death Valley NP The "sailing rocks" at the Racetrack Playa have been under investigation by researchers since the 1940s. The rocks move across the lake bed over a period of years leaving a trench. Rocks where placed on the lake bed in the winter of The rocks were watched using a high-resolution weather station. We expected to wait five or 10 years said scientist Norris without anything moving, but only two years into the project, we just happened to be there at the right time to see it happen in person. In December 2013, researchers discovered that the playa sometimes is covered with shallow water which periodically froze causing rock movement by wind assist. Death Valley NP Changing Landscape Death Valleys landscape has been changing for millions of years. It is changing now and will continue to change long after we have left. 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 due to shifting fault lines Bibliography Death Valley NP Title page Website Title: Sandy Gennrich Photography Article Title: Sandy Gennrich Photography Date Accessed: November 16, 2015 Topo map Website Title: google earth Date Accessed: November 30, 2015 Old 20 mule team Website Title: Ghosts of the Past - The 20 Mule Team Article Title: Ghosts of the Past - The 20 Mule Team Date Accessed: January 18, 2016 Website Title: Mclaren P1 Death Valley Shoot by Patrick Gosling Article Title: Mclaren P1 Death Valley Shoot by Patrick Gosling Date Accessed: January 19, 2016 Website Title: ABC News Publisher: ABC News Network Date Accessed: January 19, 2016 Website Title: CBCnews Article Title: 'Sailing rocks' mystery of Death Valley solved - Technology & Science - CBC News Publisher: CBC/Radio Canada Electronically Published: August 29, 2014 Date Accessed: January 18, 2016 Author: CBC News Website Title: Desert Environment, Minerals & Geology Index Article Title: Desert Minerals And Geology Date Accessed: January 18, 2016 Website Title: Mountain Spirit Institute Blog Article Title: Death Valley's "Sailing" Stones Electronically Published: July 17, 2012 Date Accessed: January 18, 2016 Website Title: - National Park in Nevada Article Title: Death Valley National Park Date Accessed: January 19, 2016 Website Title: National Parks Service Article Title: Geology Publisher: U.S. Department of the Interior Electronically Published: January 18, 2016 Date Accessed: January 18, 2016 Author: United States. National Park Service