Title: Death Valley NP: Historic Resource Study (Section 1)
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Content: Its landscape has been shaped by tremendous volcanic forces resulting in faulting and folding of the earth's crust. Subsequent erosion and deposition have resulted in the spectacular badlands formations along Furnace Creek Wash and in the large alluvial fans at the mouths of the many canyons that open onto the valley floor. Evidence still remains of the Ice Age lake that once filled the valley, formed by runoffs from the nearby Sierra Nevada glaciers. It is a land of strong visual contrasts, none of which were appreciated by the first white men who entered the region. This group of '49ers became lost in Death Valley while seeking a shortcut to the California goldfields, and escaped only after days of severe hardship and deprivation. Today's visitor is able to view the spectacular scenery from well-maintained roads, and comfortable accommodations help make a visit to the area a most enjoyable experience. Driving along the valley floor from the southeast to the north one passes through about 200 square miles of salt flats, beginning in the sticky playa clay around Saratoga Springs and ending in the salt pinnacles, pools, and marshes that make up the salt pan in the middle section of the valley. Here also is Badwater, lowest elevation in the United States and consequently one of the park's main tourist attractions. Further north near Stovepipe Wells Resort are fourteen square miles of picturesque sand dunes, fascinating because of their instability that makes them victim to the ever-shifting vagaries of the wind and light. In the most northern section of the monument is the Ubehebe, an area of volcanic activity characterized by several craters, foremost among them being Ubehebe Crater, 800 feet deep and one-half mile in diameter.