Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-08-14
Death VALLEY.
Its surroundings Compared with tae Dead
Sea,

Sea. /;
From time TO time there are disputes az /
10 whether any part of Death Valley, Cali /
fornia. is really below tbe level Of the sea i
The latest observations show that Il consid- /
erable portion lies below sea-level. At the |
lowest point it is 10 feet below the level OF |
the ocean. This is at plsce about twenty |
miles southeast OF Furnace creek. This |
depression extends north and south for g !
distance OF sixteen CT eighteen miles. he
ground worked BY the Eagle BoTax Com /
many is seventy feet below sea-leyel. TINS
Il four miles west Of the deepest depres
sion. The depression % Death Valley IS, /
however. far above that ut the Dead Sea,
the surface of which IS SO feet below the
Level of the Mediterranean. The s0unGlrgs
of Lieutenant lynch showed The Dead Sea
to be 2l8 fathcms, or about 800 feet deep
in the deepest part; therefore, were its wa
tiers eyaporaied, - were those that once
covered Death Valley, there would exist
depression of 2,6l2 feet below sea-iesei.
But at the Dead Sea great altitude does not
exist side By side with great depression, as
at Death Valley. The cliffs Of Judea, on
the west of The Dead Sea, are but from LOCO
to 1900 feet high; while on the east the
Mountains of Moab, which are cOntinua-
ton Of the Hauran range. have no peaks
that rise to a hight exec e6Ing 3.GCo feet. At
Death Valley, however, but fifteen miles
away from the lowest part, rises on the
west Telescope Peak, which has an altitude
of 1887 feet above sea-levpl. and II OF
feet above the lowest depression.
To get some idea OF the depth of the
bottom of Death Valley, we have but to
observe the altitude OF surrounding places
that appear to be considerable depressions.
Thus Washoe Lake is 5000 feet above sea
I LIB a 10 iazy
presents the appearance Of great depTes-
sion, yet is 5000 feet above the level OF the
sea and going to points TO tie eastward of
Death Valley, on the Colorado river, about
the lowest point n the surrounding COM
try, We find that the mouth Of the Vegas
Wash is coo feet above the level of the sea,
and the mouth of the Rio Virgen 800. Al
though we have given ITO feet rs the low
est point in Death Valley, Col. Il. S. Will
hanson, in his report on the geology OF
California, makes II l75 feet below sea level.
Although d dreary region enough and
very hot in summer, II is by no means the
fearful place that many have described it SIS
being. Death Valley proper is abouE thirty
miles long and ten miles wide; therefore,
were q man placed in the middle of it he
would have to travel only about five miles
to reach the hills by which 1t is surrouned
Furnace Creek, mentioned above, was so
named for the reason that here were found
the ruins of furnsces used by the Nor
mons during Buchauan's Administration
in 1857, for smelling lead for bullets. 1t is
said that the lead mines al this place were
known to the Indians long before any whites
were in the country. The veins. which
are of argentiferOus galena, are found in
the face Of an almost perpendicular cliff,
and are from one to five feet in width.
The creek has its source in Hudiey springs,
and has volume of about 100 inches. In
the distance Of four or five miles, however.
this HOW sinks in the sands and is lost
The place where the emigrants lost their
lives in 1850 IS not in Death Valley, bat at
Lest Wagon Springs. On the north border
of the valley. Many remains aad wrecks
of wagons still lie BtTeWl about these
springs, the water of Which is strongly
alkaline
Some writer's have described Death Val-
ley as being almost as fatal 10 life as was
that which surrounded the tabled upas
tree in the Island Of Java, asserting that
birds that attempt ia hy over the valley
drop dead. A aT. Hawkins, OF California,
seems 10 have some faith in this story. He
says: IT has been stated that birds at
tempting to fly across the valley drop
dead. While the writer cannot verify this
by ocular proof, he has picked mp at differ
ent times two little birds whose bodies I!
were still quite warm. having evidently |
Just dropped dead" Hawkins also says : |
THE dTyness of the air is so excessive that |
moisture is withdrawn from the body |
faster than il can be supplied through the |
system. From this cause frequent cases
Of death have occurred when water was |
plenty, but which could not be drank fast |
enough to supply the drain caused by the |
dessicatiye power of the dry. hot air" We |
shall not dispute what Mr. Hawkins says
of the death. but we can not agree with !
him as 10 the cause We are Of the opin-
ion that owing to the rapid evaporation of
the large quantities Of water drank, the |
persons OF whom he speaks were frozen to |
death.-DGstOr (NeV } Ness.