Death Valley, California, USA - 09 & 10 July - Days 76 and 77

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Day 75 we slept at Bishop as the drive from Yosemite to Death Valley was far too long. We played bowling and mingled with locals. The next morning, very early we headed to Death Valey.

Contrary to what the name suggests, Death valley is not a valley per se, where a river flows or has flown.
Death Valley's current landscape is the result of slow, massive changes over many centuries. After faults formed in the earth's crust, exceptional folding and volcanic action uplifted the mountain ranges and lowered the valley floor, creating a graben.

The depth and shape of Death Valley contributes to the hot temperatures observed here.
On average, Death Valley is the hottest place in the world, July being the hottest month with an average of 116 F (46.7 C). We had our pic nic close to the visitor centre and were sweating under the shade of one of the few trees around. Between 10 am and 6 pm the temperature was always around 44 degrees Celcius. (111 F).

We arrived around 2 PM and stayed just one night in the valley, at Stovepipe Wells.
We started with Zabriskie point and Danted View. From the fist you get an unforgettable view of Death Valley's wildly eroded and vibrantly colored badlands, while from the last which is more than 5,000 feet above the valley floor, one can see across most of then 110-mile-long Death Valley.
To end the day we went to Artists Drive and stopped at Artists Palette. Here the rocks have been coloured by minerals deposits which gives a surrealist landscape.

To avoid the heat, we explored Mosaic Canyon early the following morning. It was a real feast to discover this canyon on our own.
We went back to the hotel to check out and before heading to Las Vegas, visited Devils Course, Badwater Basin and Bad Water (282 feet or 86 meter below sea level!).
we then followed Badwater Road for about 100 Km before leaving Death valley at Shosho

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Photos

The beginning of Artist's Drive
A 9 mile drive along colorful rock formations.

The Artist's Palette
The highlight of the Artist's Drive. Here sea green, lemon yellow, blue and salmon pink mineral deposits are splashed across the barren background.