Infos zum Death Valley NP

Scotty's Castle Flood Recovery Tours

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There will be a limited number of opportunities this spring to visit Scotty’s Castle. This is a unique opportunity to witness the damage caused by a large flash flood and to learn about the National Park Service’s ongoing work to restore the historic district.

Scotty’s Castle Flood Recovery Tours will be offered twice a day on March 5, March 12, March 19, March 26 and April 2. The tour costs $25 per person, lasts 2 hours and will involve walking over uneven surfaces. Children younger than six are not allowed. More information is available at http://www.dvnha.org. Each tour is limited to 13 participants and advance reservations are required. Call 1-800-478-8564, extension 10 to make a reservation.

The National Park Service (NPS) and Death Valley Natural History Association (DVNHA) are working together to offer Scotty’s Castle Flood Recovery Tours. DVNHA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting the natural and cultural resources of the Death Valley region.

Except for these ranger-guided tours, Scotty’s Castle and Grapevine Canyon have been closed to all public entry since a devastating flash flood in October 2015. Except for these tours, the area will remain off-limits to the public until repairs are completed, likely to be late 2019 or early 2020.

Scotty’s Castle is a historic district clustered near a lush spring in the north end of Death Valley National Park. Millionaire Albert Johnson built Scotty’s Castle as his personal retreat to get away from it all in the 1920s. However, his good friend Death Valley Scotty claimed it was his Castle and claimed to have financed it with a gold mine in the basement. The two men had an unusual friendship – they met because Scotty conned Johnson out of thousands of dollars.

Before the flood, about 120,000 people per year visited Scotty’s Castle. Nearly half of them took the hour-long tour to see the inside of the Main House. Park rangers dressed in clothing from the 1930s as they recounted the fantastical tales of the history of the house and its unusual residents.

Over three inches of rain fell on the hills surrounding Scotty’s Castle in just five hours on October 18, 2015. The resulting flash flood inundated two of the historic buildings, causing significant damage to the interior of the visitor center and Hacienda. Almost a mile of water line, over 25 electrical poles, the septic system, and huge sections of 8 miles of road washed away. Fortunately, the damage to the main house was minimal.

NPS crews and contractors moved the entire museum collection off-site to protect it from temperature and humidity changes, pests, and risk of fire, flood and vandalism. Participants on the Flood Recovery Tours will see part of the inside of the main house without furnishings.

The National Park Service has marked several milestones in the flood recovery effort. Hundreds of miles of roads across the park were cleared of debris and reopened. The heavily-damaged Jubilee Pass section of Badwater Road reopened last summer. Artists Drive and Harmony Borax will be repaired and open by mid-March.

An access route to Scotty’s Castle for construction vehicles was created. Mud and debris were removed from the historic buildings, walkways and swimming pool. A temporary water line now supplies water to the historic district’s fire suppression system. Electricity has been temporarily restored to most buildings.

Over the next couple years the NPS plans to repair the damaged water reservoir, replace the nearly mile-long water line, replace the sceptic tanks and leach field, finish repairs to the electrical distribution system, rebuild the road, repair several buildings, install interpretive exhibits, bring the museum collection back to the main house, and dozens of other projects.

The total cost of recovering from October 2015’s floods is estimated at $48 million. This funding is coming from entrance fees paid by Death Valley National Park visitors, regional and national offices of the National Park Service, Federal Highway Administration, and donations.

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Abandoned van causes serious damage to salt pan at Death Valley

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Officials at Death Valley National Park discovered another instance of vandalism at Badwater Basin on Wednesday morning.
Someone abandoned an old van off-road of the basin, the park officials said on a Facebook page. The van left dark brown tire marks across the salt pan that could stick around for years, according to officials.
It takes an additional layer of salt to erase the damage left by tire marks, park spokeswoman Abby Wines said. One solution to the problem is to spray the affected area with water and allow the water to evaporate, leaving a fresh layer of salt.
The van, located about a half-mile off Badwater Road, has since been towed out, Wines said. The process further damaged the pan, but it was worth removing the vehicle from the territory, she said.

As a result of the damage, the National Park has applied for a three-year grant to fund restoration required after vehicles have driven off-road, the park said.

PAST CASES
Death Valley has been subject to multiple instances of vandalism in the past caused by vehicles traveling off-road, though signs warn visitors not to drive past a certain point.
The park is currently prosecuting three cases, Wines said.
When asked if the vandalism appeared malicious, Wines said, “Overall it seems that people don’t know” about the repercussions of driving off-road.
Several factors might contribute to the confusion. Media representations, specifically car commercials, depict joyrides across natural landscapes and lake beds.
“That puts in people’s heads that it’s OK to do this,” Wines said. And in the case of the Racetrack Playa, which was scarred by a motorist in August, the name itself might contribute to some confusion, but the park would rather not change the name because of its history, Wines said.
With increased awareness of the problem, Wines said, fewer people will drive off-road.

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Death Valley NP - Wildflower Reports
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Mir war bislang gar nich bekannt, dass es im Death Valley NP einen Flughafen gibt.

Airplane flips over on landing at Death Valley airport
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Es gibt wohl nichts, was Pappnasen nicht irgendwie zu Geld machen wollen.

National Park Service investigating theft of fossil footprints from Death Valley
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Hitzerekord im Death Valley

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Das Death Valley ist weltweit für seine hohen Temperaturen bekannt. Doch nun wurde in dem amerikanischen Nationalpark ein neuer Hitzerekord aufgestellt.

Das kalifornische Death Valley (Tal des Todes) hat einen neuen Hitzerekord aufgestellt. Nach Angaben der Parkverwaltung und des Wetterdienstes war Juli der heißeste Monat aller Zeiten seit Beginn der Temperaturmessungen. Demnach lagen die Durchschnittstemperaturen im vergangenen Monat bei 41,9 Grad Celsius. Der bisherige Rekord im Jahr 1917 lag knapp darunter bei 41,8 Grad.
Nachts fielen die Juli-Temperaturen auf 35 Grad ab. Dafür kletterten die Tageswerte im Schnitt auf 48,6 Grad hoch. Der höchste Wert wurde am 7. Juli gemessen, als das Thermometer auf 52,7 Grad anstieg.
Das Death Valley hat auch den Weltrekord für den heißesten Platz der Erde inne. Am 10. Juli 1913 wurden dort 56,7 Grad registriert.
Das Tal des Todes liegt rund anderthalb Autostunden von Las Vegas entfernt. Der Nationalpark bietet atemraubende Naturphänomene. Die Badwater-Salzpfanne ist mit 86 Metern unter dem Meeresspiegel der tiefste Punkt der westlichen Hemisphäre.

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Kurzer Überblick

Road Closures

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· West Side Road: Open. 4WD recommended.
· Harry Wade Road: Open. Areas of deep sand. High Clearance and 4WD required.
· Titus Canyon Road: Closed due to flood damage.
· Mesquite Spring Campground: Closed due to flood damage.
· Scotty's Castle Road/North Highway: Closed into Grapevine Canyon (Bonnie Claire Road) due to flood damage. No access to Scotty's Castle or NV-267.
· Keane Wonder Road and Mine: Closed due to mine safety hazards.

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Scotty's Castle Days: Death Valley Weekend

While the historic abode undergoes renovations, stop by the Furnace Creek Visitor Center for talks, photos, and other to-dos.

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The big thing to note here is that Scotty's Castle Days won't actually take place at the happening's namesake but at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. As for what will happen during the info-filled weekend? "This free public event will offer an opportunity to remember the beauty of Scotty's Castle through a virtual reality experience, new Scotty's Castle exhibits, a photo booth, and other programming!," says the site. Also? Talks about what's happening with the renovations will be a part of the gathering, as well as "costumed interpreters." If you're a Scotty's buff, and you just can't wait to see it again, this is definitely a next-best-thing kind of deal, a weekend full of love for the desert gem. Just make for the national park, and the Furnace Creek area, on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8, and connect with a fabled castle years ahead of its reopening.

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Park service offers limited tours of closed ‘castle’ in Death Valley

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Scotty’s Castle is still at least two years from reopening, so Death Valley National Park is again offering limited tours of the popular attraction as flood repairs continue.
The early 20th-century mansion 180 miles northwest of Las Vegas has been closed to the public since a flash flood in October 2015 sent water and mud into two historic buildings on the site and washed away almost a mile of water line, more than 25 power poles, the septic system and about eight miles of road.
The site is not expected to reopen for general visitation until 2020, but starting Dec. 2, the National Park Service and the Death Valley Natural History Association will host walking tours of the site every Saturday through April 14.
A ranger will lead participants around the castle grounds to survey the damage and the repairs in progress. The tour will also include a look inside the castle’s Great Hall, where the furnishings have been temporarily removed, revealing ornate woodwork, tiling and other architectural details.
Each tour is limited to 13 people and advance reservations are required. Reservations can be made online at http://www.dvnha.org.
Similar “flood recovery tours” were offered in March and April of this year.
Before the flood, Scotty’s Castle drew about 120,000 people per year, and nearly half of them took the hourlong tour to see the inside of the opulent retreat that millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson built in the 1920s.

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Dantes View Closed for Upgrades

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Death Valley National Park will soon be improving parking and viewing platforms at Dantes View. Due to the construction project, the scenic viewpoint will be closed temporarily to public access from January 23rd to early April 2018.

Perched at over a mile above the valley floor, Dantes View provides some of the most expansive views of Death Valley. The site was used as a part of the 1977 movie Star Wars: A New Hope.

Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds stated, “Dantes View is one of the most popular sites in the park, and every year over half a million people make the drive up to the 5,475 foot high overlook! However, the site is in desperate need of stabilization. We are very excited to work with a contractor so familiar with Death Valley’s unique needs and landscape.” The National Park Service awarded the contract to S.T. Rhoades Construction, which also rehabilitated parking and the overlook at Zabriskie Point in 2015.

In addition to parking, new viewing areas will be constructed in order to provide the best views while protecting the native landscape. A new bronze tactile model of the area is also being constructed by artist Bridget Keimel and will be located at the overlook.

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Road Maintenance Includes Acoustic Research

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Death Valley National Park visitors may experience up to 30-minute delays on roads this spring during road maintenance projects. The projects will allow the National Park Service to research the acoustic impacts of various pavement surfaces as well as extend the life of the pavement.

Construction work is scheduled from January 30 through May 26, 2018. During that time, there will be traffic delays of up to 30 minutes on Badwater Road, Beatty Cuttoff Road/Daylight Pass, and Mud Canyon Road. Many parking lots will be half-closed for one day at a time.

“We’re excited that this paving project will include a research component that looks at how pavement types affect noise from traffic in the park,” said Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “This will help us minimize noise heard by visitors at popular hikes like Badwater.”

The project will use four types of pavement surfaces, which will allow the National Park Service (NPS) to compare noise generated by vehicles driving in those areas. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center will also compare the durability of the pavement surfaces.

Most roads will be resurfaced with 3/8-inch chip seal. Badwater Road will have six half-mile sections of test surfaces, including 1/4-inch chip seal, type II micro-surfacing, and type III micro-surfacing.

Death Valley National Park has some of the most quiet and peaceful landscapes in the National Park System, according to NPS acoustic biologist Ashley Pipkin. "You can hear road noise from surprising distances in Death Valley because it is so quiet. Think about how you could hear a whisper in a library but not in a crowded restaurant.”

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Restoration Work at Death Valley Racetrack

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Recently, volunteers from the Friends of the Inyo and National Park Service staff spent a weekend attempting to remove tire tracks from the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park.

Nineteen people used garden tools and 750 gallons of water to attempt to restore 512 feet of tire tracks. The tire tracks were very visible and this effort helps to eliminate the tire track depressions and bring back the natural polygon shapes on the playa. By the conclusion of the project, the geometric patterns could be seen beginning to reform.

“The Racetrack is a unique geologic oddity found within Death Valley,” stated Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “It is a once in a lifetime destination for many people and tire tracks on this playa, or any other off-road site, impair the enjoyment of the site by thousands of visitors. We are extremely grateful for the volunteers who took on this remote, complicated job.”

The moving rocks of the Racetrack, and the trails they leave etched in the dry lake bed, have been a curiosity to the public and enigma to the science community for decades. Countless theories have tried to explain the movement of the rocks, but in 2013 a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego team observed the rocks moving and published their findings in PLOS ONE: http://journals.plos.org/ploso…1371/journal.pone.0105948

Driving off road onto the playa is illegal and leaves tracks that will take decades for nature to restore. The lake bed is within designated wilderness and as such is to be enjoyed by walking in from the parking areas. The National Park Service continues to prosecute those found driving on the playa and currently has multiple pending cases.

Death Valley National Park wants to remind people that the Racetrack is located in a remote area of the park and road conditions are variable at best, requiring high clearance vehicles and heavy duty tires. Do not attempt a trip to the Racetrack without a plenty of fuel and water. There is no cell phone service in the area. Be prepared for the possibility of spending the night if your vehicle becomes disabled.

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Restoration Work Moving Forward At Scotty's Castle In Death Valley

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Nearly three years after historic flooding devastated Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park and its surrounding landscape, the National Park Service has received funding and permits to begin moving forward with some major restoration work.
The flood on October 18, 2015, uprooted utilities, swept away sections of roads, and flooding buildings at Scotty's Castle. The area has largely been closed to the public since then as cleanup and repairs are being done. Odds are, the full restoration won't be completed until the 2020 season, according to park staff.
“People ask why it’s taking so long,” said Abby Wines, the park's management assistant. “I don’t think they understand how much damage happened in the flood. We had many decisions to make about how to do the repairs. Scotty’s Castle is such a special historic place. It’s better to do this right than to do this fast.”
The Park Service brought in historic specialists, architects, and engineers to provide designs. For larger projects, the consultants provided several alternatives. Park Service staff then chose the preferred alternative by comparing their advantages.

At that point, the park incorporated the preferred designs into documents called Environmental Assessments that were available for review by the public, the State Historic Preservation Office, and others. This consultation is required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
The park has been given the green light for several projects that have cleared the review process. Contractors might start working on Bonnie Clare Road as soon as September. Work on Scotty’s Castle’s water system, sewer system, and electrical system should start later this fall.
The park has had recent good news about funding. Death Valley National Park received confirmation of $5,394,000 in funding to repair flood damage to Scotty’s Castle Visitor Center.
However, the visitor center project highlights why flood repairs are not as straightforward as they might sound. The Park Service proposes to widen a historic opening from 3 feet to 14 feet wide. This will allow future flooding to pass through the L-shaped building without backing up into the interior of the historic building. However, it would involve a significant change in the appearance of the historic building. The California State Historic Preservation Office has not issued a final determination yet.

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Death Valley durchbricht eigene Hitzerekord für die heißeste Temperatur der Welt

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Im letzten Monat hat der kalifornische Death Valley National Park den weltweiten Hitzerekord gebrochen, als er Temperaturen von mehr als jedem anderen Ort der Welt erlebte.
Die Durchschnittstemperatur im Juli 2018 im Tal stieg auf satte 42,3 Grad Celsius, berichtete Brian Brettschneider, Mitarbeiter bei Forbes und Klimaforscher an der University of Alaska. Dies war fast ein halbes Grad höher als die Zahlen des Vorjahres, die einen 100-jährigen Hitzerekord überschritten.
Die Tatsache, dass das Death Valley den Weltrekord zwei Jahre hintereinander gebrochen hat, ist ziemlich ungewöhnlich, aber es ist erwähnenswert, dass die Region von Zeit zu Zeit hohe Temperaturen erlebt hat. Im Jahr 1913 veröffentlichte es den heißesten Tag aller Zeiten auf der Erde mit Temperaturen von 56,7 Grad Celsius (134 Grad Fahrenheit).
Der Grund für diese Extreme liegt, wie der Bericht betont, in der Lage des Tales unter dem Meeresspiegel und in den Bergen der Sierra Nevada, die Wolkenbildung verhindern. Dies entzieht der Wüste Regen und Feuchtigkeit und hinterlässt Sonnenstrahlung.
In der Regel sieht die Region 20-30 Tage in einem Jahr, in denen die Temperaturen über 49 Grad Celsius (120 Grad Fahrenheit) steigen. Allein an 21 Tagen im letzten Monat wurden Temperaturen an dieser Stelle beobachtet, wobei vier Tage bis zu 53 Grad Celsius waren Grad Fahrenheit). Die verbleibenden 10 Tage blieben weit über 38 Grad Celsius (100 Grad Fahrenheit).
Die Temperaturschätzungen stammen von der offiziellen Wetterstation Furnace Creek des Tales, die seit 1911 betrieben wird, obwohl die World Meteorological Organization diese Informationen noch überprüfen muss. Die Messung wird durchgeführt, indem zuerst die Durchschnittstemperatur für jeden Tag berechnet wird und dann dieser Mittelwert verwendet wird, um die Temperatur für den Monat festzulegen.
Abgesehen von Death Valley waren andere Regionen der USA im Juli ebenfalls Hochs, wobei viele ihre höchsten Temperaturrekorde gebrochen haben. Die von Brettschneider vorhergesagte Temperaturerhöhung könnte in naher Zukunft sogar noch höher ausfallen.
Erst letzten Monat hat ein Bericht gezeigt, dass der kälteste Ort der Erde kälter ist als bisher angenommen, und jetzt zeigt die im Death Valley gemessene Temperatur deutlich an, dass eine bestimmte Reihe von Faktoren die auf unserem Planeten herrschenden Temperaturen in Richtung extremer Enden treibt. Dies kann auf eine Reihe von Faktoren wie natürliche Variabilität und Klimawandel zurückgeführt werden, sagte Marshall Shepherd, ein Klimaforscher an der University of Georgia gegenüber Live Science.
"Extreme Hitze ist eines der Dinge, die wir mit einem hohen Grad an Sicherheit am Klimawandel festhalten können", sagte Shepherd und fügte hinzu, dass der Faktor gemeinsam mit der natürlichen Variabilität arbeitet. Der Forscher vergleicht die Situation mit der Leistungssteigerung eines Baseballspielers aufgrund von Steroiden, sagte der Forscher, dass die Fähigkeit des Tals, sich auf natürliche Weise zu erwärmen, durch die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels verstärkt wurde, was zu den Ergebnissen führt, die wir sehen.
"Mir ist klar, dass wir extreme Hitzeereignisse nicht mehr als natürlichen Zufall abschreiben können", schloss der Forscher.

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Mosaic Canyon Road Closed for Upgrades to Stovepipe Wells

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Death Valley National Park’s Mosaic Canyon Road is closed through June 30, 2019. The temporary closure is necessary due to safety concerns during a construction project on to increase the capacity of the Stovepipe Wells water system. The project includes excavating trenches and a large pit, and placing water pipes and a large tank.

Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds states, “The temporary closure of this road is necessary to ensure we have adequate water for fire suppression at Stovepipe Wells. We have responded to structural fires here in the past and sufficient water has always been a concern.”

While the access road is closed for the first three-quarters of a mile, Mosaic Canyon will remain open to hikers. Visitors wishing to explore Mosaic Canyon can park at the Stovepipe Well Ranger Station, walk around the construction zone, and continue up the road. The walk from the ranger station to the mouth of the canyon is approximately 2.5 miles one-way and the first portion is over rough, native desert landscape.

Mosaic Canyon is a narrow canyon with smooth marble walls that have been scoured and polished by flash floods. Alternative hikes include lower Titus Canyon, Fall Canyon, Golden Canyon, and Natural Bridge

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Devils Hole Pupfish Population At Death Valley National Park Nears 200

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Wildlife biologists have good news to report about one of the world’s rarest fishes. Scientists recently counted 187 Devils Hole pupfish, which is the most they’ve observed in 15 years.

“We are not out of the woods, but this is a good step in the continued recovery efforts for this fish,” said Kevin Wilson, aquatic ecologist for Death Valley National Park.

For decades, scientists counted about 200 Devils Hole pupfish in the spring and about 450 in the fall. Pupfish numbers have been precariously low in recent years, dropping to 38 pupfish in 2006-2007 and 35 pupfish in 2013.

The only natural habitat of Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) is the upper 80 feet of a deep, water-filled cavern and sun-lit shallow pool at the cavern’s entrance. Devils Hole is located in a detached unit of Death Valley National Park adjacent to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County, Nevada.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, and National Park Service staff and volunteers worked together on the official fish count, following methods used since 1972. Some scientists donned scuba gear to count fish in the cavern, starting at 100 feet below the surface. Other scientists stayed on the surface to count fish in the shallow pool. The surface and underwater numbers were added together. Researchers conducted multiple counts on September 29 and 30.

The official result, 187 observable pupfish, is the highest count recorded since September 2003. Michael Schwemm, senior fish biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said, “In natural systems it’s important to appreciate that small populations fluctuate in size seasonally and annually, and it is not uncommon to gain or lose 30 fish between counts. Still, our current count far exceeds this margin.

The scientists were also pleased by how healthy the pupfish looked, and their age range.
“The majority of the fish we counted were juveniles and young adults,” said Brandon Senger, supervising fisheries biologist for Nevada Department of Wildlife. “This population structure is what is really important and we will continue to monitor this closely.”
The next pupfish count will be held in the spring.

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