Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in Nevada. The park covers 5,262 square miles (13,630 km2), encompassing Saline Valley, a large part of Panamint Valley, almost all of Death Valley, and parts of several mountain ranges. Death Valley National Monument was proclaimed in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the monument was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include Saline and Eureka Valleys. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. It also features the second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and the lowest point in North America at Badwater, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. It is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to enjoy its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, clear night skies and the solitude of the extreme desert environment.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley_National_Park

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1493:

Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto Rico, naming it San Juan Bautista after John the Baptist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico

1863:

American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address

1942:

World War II: Soviet troops under General Georgy Zhukov launched Operation Uranus at the Battle of Stalingrad, with the goal of encircling Axis forces, turning the tide of the battle in the Soviet Union's favor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Uranus

1969:

Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian football player Pelé scored his 1000th goal on a penalty kick. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9

1999:

Shenzhou 1 , China's first unmanned test flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhou_1

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

frenetic (adj): Fast, frantic, harried, or frenzied http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frenetic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained. --James A. Garfield http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield