Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
SUBCELLAR OF US.
| SLOWLY BUILDS UP
Bottom of Death Valley Is
276 Feet Below Level
of Sea.

0Vhtu Vu4lcy, MUTUALLY parcneo ana
almost Lfeless, which queer quirk of
garden for brief period during the
early Summer, has a somber fame be-
cause OF Its name, its heat, and the
fact that 1t Is the lowest bit Of dry land
In the United States. The bottom of
the valley, which lies in Eastern Cali
fornia, is 276 feet below sea level. and
in Summer the temperature rises to 1870
degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. A
bulletin from the local headquarters of
the National Geographic Society de-
scribes this subcellar of the Western
World.
Death Valley resulted from q terre-
trial sinking spell tens of thousands
Of years ago." says the bulletin, "just
as dozens Of other valleys in the Great
Basin area did, and just as did the
worlds most famous below sea level
area-the Dead Sea region of Pales-
tine. At the time the valley was
formed q long, narrow block of earth,
not more than dozen miles wide in
this particular locality, broke from its
rocky mooringS and settled downward,
leaving shear cliffs on each side.
Since that distant day of Death
Valleys genesis, two important develop
ments have been under way-rains and
winds have been cutting the bounding
cliffs into rugged, sloping mountain
sides and have loeen transporting the
material to the valley floor. Slowly
Death Valley Is committing suicide,
gradually the floor is being built up.
and in time, after the passage Of some
thousands OF years, no part Of 1t will
remain below sea level.
In normal years only a few inches
Of rain fall on the valley floor. But
during May of this year there were
daily showers for more than half the
month. Under this stimulus, seeds that
must have lain dormant for years
sprouted and large patches of the less
salty areas Of the valley became car
peted with wild flowers and grasses.
Valley Being Filled Up.
More rain falls on the mountains
bounding the valley-the Armagosa
Range to the northeast and the Pana-
mint Range to the southwest. It Is the
precipitation on these ranges-the
eroded remains Of the cliffs that at first
lowered over the valley-that is gradu-
ally filling the great sink with debris
From the valley floor one sees the
mouths Of numerous canyons, and be-
fore each spreads a fan-shaped deposit
OF sand, salt and stones brought down
by freshetS. The water that pours out
Of these canyons after rains in the
mountains Is usually quickly drunk up
by the dry sands, or if it accumulates
in the lowest depressions of the valley
1t rapidly eVaporateS in the hot, dry
desert air, leaving deposit of salt.
Approximately 500 square miles lie
below sea level in Death Valley. In
width the depression varies between s
tends northwest and southeast for 125
miles. It lies approximately parallel
to the long, diagonal surveyed line that
forms the greater part Of the boundary
between Nevada and California. 1t is
few miles southwest of the boundary,
not far from its midpoint, and thus lies
wholly within California.
Presents DesoIate Appearance.
1.-THE valley usually presents q desc
late appearance. The lowest areas are
salt fats. Most of the relatively higher
portions Of the floor have an abund-
ailce Of salt grains, too, mixed with the
sand. Here and there old saline crusts
are broken into hard, jagged pieces.
In places the sand and salt drift into
dunes. The area Is not wholly devoid
of life. An occasional stunted mes
quite bush manages to exist in the
Winter and early Spring few horned
'toads' and other lizards scamper about,
but these animals are wise enough to
migrate to more hospitable regions be-
fore Summer sets in.
From the steep sides of Death Valley
q few small, scattered springs of good
water trickle. These have been care
fully marked. Other springs are 50
impregnated with minerals that their
waters are UNFIT for use. One stable
spring gushes into the valley. With
the aid of its waters, small tracts of
alfalfa and number of trees are grow
ing. Near this touch Of civilization are
important borax mines that have been
worked for years. :;
Death Valley gained its doleful title
in 1849, when party of overland trav-
elers bound for California persisted in
its wastes. Board-marked graves and
an occasional human skeleton show that
the valley has taken its further toll of
life, but with railway near the south
eastern end, wagon and automobile
tracks throughout the depression,
marked springs, an irrigated ranch
and mines, Death Valley has neces-
sarily lost some Of its somber reputa-
ton. Lately q hotel has been built in
the foothills, and now even tourists visit
the once dread Death Valley"