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Death Valley is a at –.) Located southeast of the Sierra Nevada range in the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert , it constitutes much of Death Valley National Park . It runs north-south between the Amargosa Range to the east and the Panamint Range to the west; the Sylvania Mountains and the Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern Boundaries , respectively. It has an area of about 3,000 square miles (~7,800 km&2).1 GEOGRAPHY Geologically , Death Valley is considered one of the best examples of the Basin And Range Configuration . Located on the border of California and Nevada, Death Valley is the principal feature of the Mojave And Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve . Temperatures in the Valley can range from up to 130 °F (54 °C ) in the day in the summer, to below freezing at night in the winter. Many of Death Valley's narrow, serpentine roads were built in the 1930s and cannot be driven at high speed. Badwater , located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest point in North America. (Surprisingly, the ''highest'' point in the Contiguous United States , Mount Whitney , is just 76 miles (123 km) west of Death Valley.) At 282 feet (86 m) below Sea Level , Death Valley shares most of the characteristics found in other places around the world that lie Below Sea Level . Generally, the lower the altitude of a place, the higher the temperatures tend to be. This is especially true in Death Valley, due to the mountains that encircle the valley. The valley radiates extreme amounts of heat, creating temperatures that are among the hottest on earth. The Hottest Temperature ever recorded in the United States was 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10 , 1913 . The highest average high temperature in July is 117 °F (47 °C) with temperatures of 122 °F (50 °C) or higher being very common. The valley receives less than 2 In (50 Mm ) of rain annually. The Amargosa River and Furnace Creek flow through the valley, disappearing into the sands of the valley floor. While Death Valley gets very little rain, it is prone to flooding during heavy rains because the soil is unable to absorb the bulk of the water. The runoff can produce dangerous Flash Flood s. In August 2004, such flooding caused two deaths and shut down the national park. During the late Pleistocene , the valley was inundated by prehistoric Lake Manly . The valley received its name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush by emigrants who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields. During the 1850s, gold and silver were extracted in the valley. In the 1880s, Borax was discovered and extracted by Mule-drawn Wagons . NATIVE POPULATION Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past 1000 years. Some families still live in the valley at Furnace Creek. The name of the valley, ''tümpisa'', means 'rock paint' and refers to the valley as a source of Red Ochre paint. Another village in the valley was located in Grapevine Canyon near the present site of Scotty's Castle . It was called ''maahunu'' in the Timbisha Language , the meaning of which is uncertain although ''hunu'' means 'canyon'. IN NOTABLE BOOKS AND FILMS
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