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Redirects
Recent Lake?
there is also danger in these parks. Danger that people can control. Was there really a past lake at Badwater called "Recent Lake"? I've searched for a reference, but all I've found are mirrors back to this wikipedia article -- or phrases along the lines of "the most recent lake in Death Valley...". USGS's GNIS has no entry for a "Recent Lake". Also casting doubt: isn't the convention for naming no-longer-extant lakes to begin them with the word Lake (as in Lake Manly)? -- ScottMainwaring, 20:06, 1 December 2005
- In the absence of any verifiable source for this, I removed the reference to "Recent Lake". --ScottMainwaring 17:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
Designation?
Didn't Death Valley use to be a national monument? - Montréalais
isn't it still...hold on I'll ck, nope, not as far I can tell--dgd
- Yes it was at one time a national monument but was promoted to nationalparkhood 1994. --mav
Death Valley '49ers left via Wingate Pass?
According to [1], they used Emigrant Canyon (which would explain the name), and [2] says that some of them used Towne Pass (named after the Towne party?). Is there a source for Wingate Pass? --NE2 02:02, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
Telephone history
The below text needs to be cleaned-up and cited before it is put back into the article. --mav (talk) 00:02, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
While the area has modern telephone service today, the park is a rural area.
Before the 1980s, a variety of telephone technologies of different eras connected communities within the park. The area was within the Pacific Telephone area of the former Bell System. An electromechanical step-by-step central office at Furnace Creek switched calls for dial telephones in the resort and Visitor Center area. At the time, service was constrained to rotary dial only. Coin service was provided and included dialtone-first 9-1-1 service when that rolled out.
A 454 MHz (Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells) / 459 MHz (reverse direction) full-duplex Rural Radio Telephone Service link went from Furnace Creek Central Office to Stovepipe Wells. The channel pairs were shared with Improved Mobile Telephone Service, which was not offered on UHF in Death Valley. The link used single-frequency (SF) signaling. Subscribers at Stovepipe Wells used non-dial phones, (manual service). To place a call, they would just go off-hook and wait for the operator. To reach Stovepipe Wells from anyplace in North America, callers would dial "0" for the operator and ask for Stovepipe Wells California Toll Station Number ... (and the single-digit number). Although Death Valley was in 619 area code at the time, the operator routing for Stovepipe Wells was through Los Angeles: KP 213+181 ST. The caller's local toll operator would have to call an operator in Los Angeles, who would manually set up the call.
Death Valley Junction was also on manual service. A multi-circuit open wire ran from Furnace Creek Central Office to Death Valley Junction. An unusual, non-dial 1A1 Coin Collector was installed at the Amargosa Hotel. Its bright red instruction card said, "Do Not Deposit Coins," as there was no way to send coin relay commands (e.g. coin return/coin collect) over the manual circuit.
Timbisha place names within the Park
This para needs inline citations added before it is put back into the article. --mav (talk) 00:30, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
Timbisha, from tümpisa, "rock paint", refers to both the valley and the village located at the mouth of Furnace Creek. It refers to rich sources of red ochre paint in the valley. Ubehebe Crater, possibly from hüüppi pitsi, "old woman's breast". The Timbisha call it tümpingwosa, "rock basket". Wahguyhe Peak, from the Timbisha name waakko'i, "pinyon pine summit". The Timbisha term refers to the entire Grapevine Range. Hanaupah Canyon, from the Timbisha name Hunuppaa, "Canyon Springs" (see Timbisha language).
it is located in the mojave desert —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.222.8.231 (talk) 22:30, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
"Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed..."
What does this mean? Is it an Americanism? Shouldn't the sentence read "Death Valley National Park was proclaimed (as) a monument..."? This blurb currently appears as is for tomorrow's TFA. Can someone in the know please reword that sentence? Regards. ZUNAID●FOREVER 16:42, 18 November 2009 (UTC)
- No, the sentence is correct as it is. A national monument is not a national park. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 15:08, 19 November 2009
(UTC)
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- 75.41.110.200 is correct. National Park vs. National Monument (United States) At the time, I and many others were unhappy about some of the changes that National Park status would bring to the area. JPAnalog (talk) 06:14, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
Intro
The intro is ambiguous and somewhat misleading. "Death Valley National Park is the most arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada..."
Should be changed to "Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park. Located east of the Sierra Nevada..." the sentence is disjointed and may imply that it is only arid compared to other regions east of the sierra nevada.
Geographic Setting
Changed "Teapot Junction" to "Teakettle Junction," this is a well-known spot.JPAnalog (talk) 06:01, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
Regarding the gravel road from Ubehebe Crater to Teakettle Junction and down into the Racetrack Playa, much of it is passable by even two-wheel drive passenger cars under good conditions, but even under the best conditions the dirt portions are severely washboard rutted and I once aged a brand-new car very quickly on them, introducing a host of squeaks and rattles, much to my spouse's chagrin. Not sure if this is worth noting here, but someone in a nice, brand-new crossover vehicle might want to think twice before venturing off the paved roads.JPAnalog (talk) 06:30, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
- It depends on the condition of the road, which is dependent on the time since the last grading, recent weather and the number of vehicles using the road. Given all that, sometimes a particular dirt road is passable by a regular car but other times even 4x4s have a hard time. What a visitor needs to do is ask a ranger before going on any dirt road to find out about current conditions. I too have made the bumpy trip to the Racetrack in a regular car just fine and another time I got a flat in a SUV on the same road after a very, very rough trip. --mav (reviews needed) 00:51, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
Night Sky
is the panorama of the night sky in Death Valley a true representation of what can be seen by eye there? Or is it enhanced in some way? 74.128.56.194 (talk) 05:59, 13 January 2011 (UTC)
Re: Pyrex glassware
The article claimed that Pyrex bakeware is make borosilicate glass. This is only partially true. Today, household Pyrex products sold in the United States, including bakeware and measuring cups, are made of tempered soda-lime glass. See the Pyrex article. It says that European Pyrex branded household products are still made of borosilicate glass. Evidently, Pyrex branded laboratory glassware is also borosilicate glass. –droll [chat] 05:48, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
Section for travelers who travel in the Summer months
This 4th of July weekend, I traveled with my family to Las Vegas and made a stop in Death Valley. Temperature was hovering around 117 degrees in the Valley. It would be good to see a section in this article that talks about travel in the extreme temperature. My RV broke down in the extreme heat and it was our good luck that we were near the Furnace Creek. TomPaul67 (talk) 06:35, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
More of a job for Wikitravel.org with the provided External link even though there is a passing allusion: "The normal season for visiting the park is from October 15 to May 15, because of summer extremes in temperature." The climate section also noted that it is the hottest and driest place on the continent, setting record high temperatures on a regular basis. However, there might be nothing wrong with expanding slightly in the Activities section that the Valley is isolated, has just a few tourist facilities separated often separated by 50 miles of open desert and rugged mountains, and desert extremes of heat and cold can wreck havoc on vehicles and people. Bring food and water and do not expect a cell phone signal (I can say all that from experience). --Marcinjeske (talk) 00:59, 15 November 2011 (UTC)
- Yep - Last time I was there was in July and I got a flat tire on a dirt road 15 miles from pavement and no cell signal. At least it was *only* just above 100 and it was just a single flat. Also good to note (if a RL can be found for it) would be that some tourists go there in July/August in large part to experience the extreme heat. --mav (reviews needed) 00:40, 17 November 2011 (UTC)