Death Valley, an area in Nevada and California, is one of the most famous deserts in the United States. Almost 20 percent of this area is below sea level. Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and it is the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago, the Panamint Indians called this place "Tomesha"—the land of fire. The present name, Death Valley,can date back to 1849, when a group of miners became lost in it and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has become a National Monument (遗址) and is crossed by several roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human has hardly destroyed the special beauty of this place.
Here there are a lot of surprising natural scenes. One of the most surprising and variable (多变的) parts of Death Valley is Devil's Golf Course, where it seems hard for people to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures (沙雕) stand on the frightening ground, as evening shadows (暮色) move and lengthen.
