Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-02


so at least during the weeks when
the grain harvesters chatter In the fields and
asphalt gets soft and sticky in city streets. But
the thermal capital of the United States viii
still remain in Death Valley.
This strip Of desolation in Southeastern Cali
fornia holds the highest honors in heat for
the Western Hemisphere, and few years ago.
before It was ousted by the sizzlingly-named
city Of Azizia In North Africa, 1t was the worlds
champion mercury booster.
Death Valley Is q deep trough between two
mountain ranges. It is something over hum
bred miles long and averages 10 miles wide
Within less than o hundred miles OF Mount
whitney, the highest peak in the United States
proper, 1t sinks its lowest depression Of 276 feet
below sea level. This is ofhcial measurement;
there may be lower spots In the valley still
awaiting the surveyors telescope eye.
For ages it has been the catch basin Of desert
streams, and once, 1t Is believed. it was the
scene Of geyser action that would have made
even Yellowstone look tame; so that there is ON
its arid floor a vast accumulation Of concen-
trated mineral salts of various kinds including
the famous borax deposits that until few
years ago supplied the world.
It got its name in the epic gold rush days Of
40, when starved and decimated party Of
emigrants who had struggled through 1t with
infinite sufferings, looked back and gave it the
sinister title that has chung to it to this day.
It was on o blazing midsummer day 10 years
ago. on July 10, 1918, that the oficial Their
perature Of 1874 degrees Fahrenheit. This figure
stood for nine years two months and three
days, until September 49, 1922 when the afore-
mentioned Tripolitan town Of Azizia sizzled IT.
self up to 1875 degrees in the shade-if any,
DOTH these figures challenged by claim
- ants of heat records for other hot spots on
the earth. But Azzia remains champion, and
Death Valley runner-up for world honors and
champion Of the Western Hemisphere, because
certified thermometers In standard scientific
mountings.
But Death Valleys claim to distinction Is not
based on q single spectacular days work.
Death Valley is q consistent performer. It de-
nvers o very high average temperature year
after year. and practically every Summer It
turns out few days-or perhaps even weeks-
Of weather at for old timers to brag about.
And It can do handsome Job in droughts,
too-months on end without the hundredth-
inch sprinkle Of rain that is the United States
Weather Bureaus minimum requirement for o
rainy day When the rest Of the country was
parching In the great drought Of 1890, Death
Valley outdid itself. It had no recorded rain
end into December, 1929, and into January,
> 1881, on the other; 4o1 consecutive days on
which no measurable precipitation occurred!
The whole story Of Death Valleys climate
has been made the subject Of thorough scien-
tiflc examination by Ernest e. Eklund, Of the
Weather Bureau ONCE In San Francisco. He
presented his results ct the recent meeting Of
the American Association for the Advancement
OF Science in Pasadena hss'a's@<
The station where Mr.. Eklunds data were OBJ
tanned Is ct Greenland Ranch. property q