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Week$4$
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May$10$–$May$16,$2015$
This!Week!in!!
National!Parks!
With!Greg!Foote!
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Death Valley
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National
Park
This$Week$
A variety of
rock forms
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This%week%I%experienced%Death%Valley%
National%Park.%The%entrance%sign%says%is%
“Death%Valley%National%Park%and%Timbisha%
Shoshone%Tribal.”%%This%unique%relationship%
creates%a%wellBorchestrated%symbiotic%
relationship%between%the%federal%
government%and%an%Indigenous%tribe.%%While%
this%relationship%has%had%its%ups%and%downs,%
(mostly%downs%for%the%tribe),%there%is%hope%
of%a%lasting%understanding%spawning%from%a%
new%found%respect.%%The%National%Park%
Service%is%working%with%the%Timbisha%Tribe%
to%save%its%vital%and%traditional%Mesquite%
groves%in%the%Furnace%Creek%area.%%The%rich%
and%beautiful%traditions%of%the%Timbisha%
Tribe%in%the%region%of%Death%Valley%National%
Park%are%on%display%in%the%Visitor%Centers.%%
And%to%the%tribal%members%Death%Valley%
could%not%be%more%inappropriately%named.%%
They%have%lived%here%through%all%for%
centuries.%
Multimedia$Gallery$
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A Hot, Very Dry Place
Death Valley National Park has a unique weather system that
brings very little precipitation to the valley. It is one of driest
places on Earth and one of the hottest, with the highest valid
temperature ever recorded. This uniqueness coupled with its
flagrant name that derived from a lost settler who by
happenstance stumbled into the valley of the Timbisha
Shoshones who had lived here for centuries, only to find himself
unable to cope with the dry and heat, declaring “Goodbye, Death
Valley!” as he turned and faced his home of miserable hot and
hungry weeks before heading westward over a ridge bordering
the valley. And with that proclamation, came the name of this
extraordinary National Park. Yet, Death Valley is anything but
dead. Life abounds. The valley floor may be inhospitable in the
summer months for humans, but its very comfortable in the
winter. And, what is lost on the name is that Death Valley
encompasses far more than a valley. Its upper regions team with
life, numerous animals, pine trees, flowers, and even snow. The
Timbisha knew this then and know it now. Their lives are a
complete understanding of the region not just the experience of a
novelty of a place white people named, Death Valley. Truth is
the place is unique, but also spectacular and beautiful. It may be
hot, but it’s a great model of what is possible.
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May$10$–$May$16,$2015$
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Death$Valley$Fauna$
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Death!Valley!at!first!look!seems!to!hold!
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few!to!no!animals,!but!a!night!of!camping!
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at!one!of!the!campgrounds!will!present!a!
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different!understanding.!!Kangaroo!rats!
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and!lizards!move!around!campsites!with!
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little!concern!of!people.!!Out!on!the!desert!
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floor,!coyotes,!roadrunners,!and!
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numerous!reptiles!make!their!homes.!!
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Much!of!the!feeling!that!the!place!is!void!
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of!animals!is!that!most!of!the!creatures!
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that!inhabit!the!area!are!nocturnal.!!But,!
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walking!out!into!the!desert!at!night!with!a!
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headlight!reveals!a!place!that!is!alive!with!
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life.!!In!the!higher!elevations!animal!
populations!increase!and!even!support!
herds!of!feral!mules!as!well!as!numerous!
breeds!of!birds,!rodents,!and!reptiles.!
A!killdeer!finds!its!breakfast!in!the!small!
but!amazing!Salt!Creek!pupfish.!
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Hedgehog!cactus!are!one!of!numerous!
beautiful!flowering!plants!in!Death!Valley.!
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A lone coyote on the valley floor.
Death$Valley$Flora$
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Death!Valley!is!not!well!for!its!!plant!life,!but!visiting!in!
springtime!after!a!rainfall,!quickly!changes!that!
perception.!!The!wildflowers!of!the!Park!that!abound!are!
nothing!short!of!spectacular.!!Even!in!a!normal!to!low!
rain!year,!the!flowers!are!beautiful.!!!Even!the!very!
common!creosote!bush!(Larrea!tridentate)*displays!
attractive!yellow!flowers!that!are!lost!on!too!many!
passers!by.!!But,!they!are!certainly!not!lost!of!the!bees!
who!dance!around!the!flowers!gathering!pollen!and!
nectar.!!Many!of!the!most!exquisite!flowers!are!so!small!
and!close!to!the!ground!that!they!are!difficult!to!spot.!!
These!tiny!flowers!grow!among!the!rocks!sand.!!One!
important!factor!of!all!plants!in!Death!Valley!is!that!they!
adapt!to!survive!and!thrive!in!these!incredible!
conditions.!!Some!plants!have!lost!their!leaves!altogether!
and!developed!needles!or!spines!like!cactus,!while!others!
develop!ways!of!coping!with!nothing!more!then!their!
stems!like!the!Death!Valley!ephedra!(Ephedra*funereal).!!!
As!the!elevations!move!higher,!the!plant!communities!
change.!!More!flowers!begin!to!appear!and!the!
quintessential!Mojave!Desert!plant,!Joshua!trees!(Yucca*
brevifolia)!grow!on!alluvial!slopes.!!Continuing!higher,!
pinyon!pine!(Pinus*edulis)!and!juniper!(Juniperus!
communis)!forests!abound!and!were!a!vital!sustenance!
for!native!people.!!For!more!information!on!flora!of!
Death!Valley!go!to:!
http://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/plants.htm!
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Climate$of$Death$Valley$
Days per years with measurable rain at Furnace Creek. The average number of days with measurable rain
recorded at Furnace Creek has increased since 1950, although year-to-year variability has also increased.
From: THE CLIMATE OF DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA BY STEVEN ROOF AND CHARLIE CALLAGAN.
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-84-12-1725
Precipitation$and$the$Valley$
Death!Valley’s!lack!of!rainfall!is!due!to!its!geographic!location!in!what!is!called!a!rainshadow!of!four!
mountain!ranges:!Sierra!Nevada,!White!Mountains,!Argus!Range,!and!the!Panamint!Range.!!As!precipitation!
comes!off!the!Pacific!Ocean,!the!rain!and!snow!fall!on!each!of!these!successive!ranges!and!leaves!little!to!
nothing!for!Death!Valley.!!Aside!from!advection!thunderstorms!which!occur!when!heated!air!from!the!valley!
quicly!rises!unitl!it!meets!the!cooler!air!above.!!The!result!is!an!extreme!unloading!of!the!moisture!contained!
in!the!air!that!condenses,!creates!violent!winds,!lightening!,!and!heavy!rain.!!The!rains!create!flash!floods!
that!come!and!go!as!fast!as!the!thunderstorms!themselves.!!Often!these!storms,!when!they!occur,!dump!huge!
amounts!of!rain!in!a!few!minutes!then!disappear!after!releasing!their!energy.!!
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While!the!land!is!arid!and!hot,!the!entire!place!is!
sculpted!by!water!and!wind.!!Every!feature!from!the!
canyons,!and!alluvial!fans!to!the!salt!flats!is!all!a!
result!of!water.!!The!irony!is!not!lost!on!the!careful!
observer.!!The!heat!is!also!a!factor.!!Many!come!to!
Death!Valley!in!the!summer!just!to!experience!the!
“driveXthrough”!novelty!of!the!extreme!heat.!!This!
heat!gives!the!water!that!does!fall!no!chance!to!stay!
around.!!Evaporation!rates!here!are!the!highest!in!the!
world!at!128!inches,!where!the!average!rainfall!is!1.5.!!
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A land of color!
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Experiencing Death Valley National Park!
1. Mesquite!Dunes!!!!!
2. Golden!Canyon!to!Zambriski!Point!!!!!
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2. Mosaic!Canyon!
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3. Wildrose!Peak!and!Charcoal!Kilns!
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4. Badwater!
5. Dante’s!View!
6. Artist’s!Drive!
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For!information!and!subscriptions!go!to!www.lonelyfirepublishing.com!
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This!weekly!newsletter!is!developed!and!published!by:!
All!rights!reserved.!!All!work!in!this!publication!is!copyrighted.!!Reproduce!only!with!explicit!permission!from!the!
author!and!publisher,!Gregory!Foote.!!Publisher!and!author!will!take!legal!action!to!recover!all!damages!from!any!
illegal!reproduction!of!all!or!any!part!of!this!publication.!!All!images,!text,!and!design!are!of!the!explicit!copyright!of!
Lonely!fie!Publications!and!Gregory!Foote.!!Please!contact!us!at!greg@lonelyplanetpublishing.com!for!permissions.!
Each!week!a!newsletter!will!be!published!about!the!National!Park!that!the!author,!Gregory!
Foote!is!visiting.!!For!the!next!59!weeks!he!will!visit!each!National!Park!and!develop!a!
newsletter!like!this!Zion!newsletter.!!The!content!and!concept!of!this!newsletter!is!to!give!each!
reader!an!active!experience!as!I!experience!each!National!Park.!!!
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This!is!a!perfect!addition!to!every!middle!high!school.!!The!content!is!highly!accessible!for!all!
students!and!highly!Common!Core!Standards!compatible.!!!
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It!is!vital!as!a!nation!for!all!its!people!to!understand!the!importance!of!why!our!National!Parks!
present!an!extraordinary!example!of!this!country’s!values.!National!Parks!bring!visitors!a!
sense!of!joy!and!enlightenment.!!But!mostly,!they!are!indicator’s!of!the!natural!Earth.!!
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