An old mine structure in Death Valley, CA
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- April 1977
- Location
- Death Valley, California
- License
- This photograph copyright ©1977. All Rights Reserved
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- Search LEARN NC for arid, badlands, badwater, California, Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, deserts, dry, erosion, lowest point, and mountains.
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This is an old mine structure in Death Valley National Park, California. It is surrounded by grass and some wooden debris. The park has temporarily closed off access to many of the historic mine sites due to the instability of the ground surrounding them, the eroding traces of chemicals used in the process (such as cyanide), and the instability of many of the structures themselves, which are rotting.
Death Valley National Park is located east of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It is home to the lowest point in North America at Badwater, which is 282 feet below sea level, but it also encompasses parts of several mountain ranges. Its highest point is Telescope Peak, at 11,049 feet. Located in an rainshadow exaggerated by the presence of four major mountain ranges between it and the ocean, Death Valley receives less than two inches of rainfall a year and is famous as one of the hottest and driest places in North America. Summer temperatures often hover around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
