In Death Valley in 1913, the highest temperature on planet Earth was measured

(Patria) - Death Valley stretches over 7,800 square kilometers in the northern part of the Mojave Desert in California. It is 225 kilometers long and between eight and 24 kilometers wide.

It is also the driest place in the USA - on average, only 40 millimeters of precipitation falls annually. For comparison, in the center of Zagreb, only in May 2024, about 50 millimeters more rain fell than in Death Valley during the entire year, reports Punkufer.hr.

Death Valley got its name in 1849 during the "gold rush," after a group of prospectors searching for that precious metal tragically perished due to high temperatures, lack of water and food.

The highest temperature in history was measured in Death Valley, or at least so claims the famous Guinness Book of Records.

The world record occurred on July 10, 1913, in Furnace Creek, and amounted to 56.7 degrees Celsius.

Furnace Creek is considered the hottest place on Earth with average summer temperatures of 46 degrees Celsius.

The ground temperature is even higher - a measurement taken on July 15, 1972, showed it to be as high as 93 degrees Celsius.

Despite the merciless living conditions, people have inhabited Death Valley as early as 9,000 years ago. In the last millennium, it has been home to the Timbisha Shoshone or Panamint tribe.

It is also home to more than a thousand plants, 300 species of birds, about fifty mammals such as the bighorn sheep and cougar, and about thirty species of reptiles.

It is worth adding that this is an area of great contrasts. Although landscapes of dried earth, salt deposits and desert dunes dominate, you will also find 600 springs and small lakes there.