New species of scorpion found in Death Valley National Park

A doctoral student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, discovers the tiny Wernerius inyoensis during a nighttime search of the park. Don't worry, Angelenos: The elusive species may live underground and is likely to be found in dry, sandy habitats. Even in territory as well-traversed as California, biologists can ...

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The mystery of Death Valley's missing pupfish

The Devil's Hole pupfish is arguably one of the cooler species around. These tiny iridescent blue fish, just a bit over an inch long, live in one place only, a deep pool in the Amargosa Valley of west Nevada, in a place called Ash Meadows, an outpost of California's ...

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Death Valley Side Trip: China Ranch Date Farm prospers in remote oasis

Located in a secluded California desert canyon near Death Valley National Park, China Ranch Date Farm surprises first-time visitors. At the end of a twisting road between chalky cliffs cut into desert seemingly barren of plant life, this hidden oasis fills a little valley with groves of stately date ...

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Species Spotlight: Chuckwalla

One thing you can almost always count on finding in the desert (besides an arid climate) is a lizard. Cold-blooded lizards are made for the hot temperatures and blazing sun. The unique chuckwalla is no exception. Chuckwallas, or “chucks” for short, are close relatives of the iguana. Growing up ...

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Remodeled visitor center to open in Death Valley National Park

Visitors to Death Valley National Park now have a cool new place to escape the heat. The national park 100 miles west of Las Vegas is opening the doors Thursday to its remodeled visitor center at Furnace Creek, Calif. The 52-year-old building has been retrofitted with solar panels and other energy ...

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New national monument could add to Great Basin’s scenic spaces

On a quiet swath of land in Morongo Valley, wildflowers, boulders and sky stretch for miles. Water trickles down a hill, coating the pebbles below with moss. The Little Morongo Canyon area is designated as federal wilderness area, but its designation leaves it vulnerable to competing interests. Conservationists and a slew ...

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Death Valley’s Ubehebe Crater could explode again

Conditions still ripe for massive steam-magma interactions Along with heat exhaustion, flash floods, rock falls, rattlesnakes and scorpions, visitors to Death Valley may one day witness a phreatomagmatic explosion in Ubehebe Crater, one of many unusual geologic formations in the California national park. Geologists recently took a close look at the ...

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Death Valley National Park Wildflowers Begin Their Bloom

It has started. The annual wildflower bloom in California’s Death Valley National Park has begun with a bloom of Desert Gold wildflowers on a hilly area of volcanic earth north of Ashford Mill near Furnace Creek Resort. Although this year’s bloom is not expected to surpass the breathtaking 2005 ...

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Death by GPS in Desert

National Park Service warns of dangers of releying on GPS devices in remote parks. Five harrowing days after becoming stuck on a remote backcountry road in Death Valley National Park in August 2009, Alicia Sanchez lay down next to her Jeep Cherokee and prepared to die. Then she heard a voice. "I ...

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California Senators Seek to Expand State Parkland

California's two Democratic senators are renewing plans to add millions of acres of park, wilderness, marine sanctuaries and other conservation lands in the state, including a major expansion of the desert parks, billing the effort in part as a way to boost the tourism economy. Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced legislation, ...

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Life in Death Valley: The Timbisha Shoshone

Death Valley. The name evokes a bleached and desiccated ox skull on a vast alkaline flat, a desert night snake hiding in the cool shade of its cranial vault. The name whispers of parched Gold Rushers killing their pack animals for food, of ferocious winds and murderous heat. Death Valley, ...

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This Fall, Plan a National Park Winter Vacation

It may not seem like it now, but winter is just around the corner. Before you know it, you'll be itching to get away--and whether your dream destination is warm and sunny or a snowy wonderland, our national parks are some of the best winter getaway destinations in the ...

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Death Valley '49ers Encampment 2010

Join the Death Valley '49ers this November for the 61st Annual Encampment! During the park's most attended special event, thousands of participants come to celebrate the spirit of the 1849 gold rush wagon train that crossed Death Valley. This five-day event, taking place November 10-14, 2010, includes old-time and western-style ...

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'A fantastic bloom' at Death Valley: Hottest, driest spot in North America teems with flowers

Don't let the name fool you. From Salsberry Pass to Scotty's Castle, this place is alive with wildflowers. What experts are calling the third best  bloom of the past 20 years is peaking right now, painting large swaths of Death Valley in yellow and purple and pink. The wildflowers emerged late ...

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Top 10 Indoor Activities at our National Parks

While the majority of activities at our public lands are meant to be enjoyed in the great outdoors, there are also fun and educational opportunities to be had under a roof. The next time you feel like getting out of the sun and/or the rain for a few hours, ...

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