Death Valley, Desert valley in Inyo County, California, United States

Death Valley is a graben, a downdropped block between the Amargosa Range to the east and the Panamint Range to the west, running north to south across about 3,000 square miles. Its floor includes salt pans left by Pleistocene Lake Manly, and the Amargosa River and Furnace Creek disappear into the sands. Badwater Basin lies 86 meters below sea level, while Telescope Peak rises to 3,366 meters.

The Timbisha Shoshone have inhabited this region for over a thousand years, adapting their lives to the extreme desert conditions. European settlers reached the area during the California Gold Rush in 1849, with several pioneers perishing, and mining for borax and other minerals dominated the economy from the 1880s onward.

The Timbisha Shoshone call the valley Tümpisa, "rock paint", after the red ochre found there; several families still live near Furnace Creek. A second village, Maahunu ("great canyon"), stood in Grapevine Canyon near the site of Scotty's Castle.

The most comfortable months to visit are November through March, when daytime temperatures range between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 27 degrees Celsius). Each visitor should carry more than one gallon (four liters) of water and prepare vehicles with sufficient fuel, as service stations are scarce, while paved roads connect major points of interest.

The 1913 reading of 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek is disputed by modern experts over observer issues; the highest reliable figure is 130 °F (54.4 °C), set there on August 16, 2020 and July 9, 2021. The Timbisha name for the valley, Tümpisa, means "rock paint", after the red ochre found in it.