Park Archives: Death Valley National Park

Then, with a rush and a cry, a raven soars past, drawing your attention to the unexpected details around you. A flicker of movement makes you grab your camera, but the lizard darts away before you can take a picture. Now you notice flowers growing in the shadow of a rock. More surprises await.... Discover pine woodlands atop high mountains or life crowded around isolated springs. Rise with the sun and watch light touch the snowy peaks, slide down the slopes, and illuminate the valley floor—revealing colors and textures that wash out in the harsh light of midday.

At night, your senses sharpen to detect subtle sounds and the glory of the night sky. Be still and listen. The silence is so deep you can hear crystals on the salt flats pop as they contract. in the cooling evening. Catch a glimpse of creatures once hidden from the daytime heat, now skittering between rocks or racing across the sand. As your eyes adjust to the dark, look up—the clear, dry air and few lights let billions of stars shine through Earth's atmosphere. This after-dark extravaganza has earned Death Valley the designation of International Dark Sky Park.

"Timbisha" is the Shoshone word for Death Valley and the red rocks in the surrounding mountains. The Timbisha Shoshone have lived here for over 1,000 years. Trust lands have been set aside where they can live permanently in their ancestral homeland. The Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural Preservation Area is jointly managed for the tribe's traditional cultural and religious activities.

Ninety-one percent of Death Valley National Park is designated wilderness, preserving opportunities to experience solitude, natural quiet, dark night skies, and wild nature. With solitude comes isolation, so you must be self-reliant for your own safety. You can get to the park's vast wilderness along hundreds of miles of unpaved roads, but your vehicle must stay on the road. Backcountry maps are available at the visitor center and ranger stations. Other wilderness rules apply, so consult a park ranger before you explore.

The park newspaper, available at visitor centers and online, has articles about the park, information about services, and suggestions of what to see and do.

Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to the visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check the park website.

Safety Do not rely on cell phones and GPS; service may be non-existent or unreliable. • Obey the speed limit. • Keep hydrated; drink water. • Avoid activity in the heat. • Do not approach or touch wildlife. • Avoid canyons during rain storms. • Keep out of mines. • Ask about unpaved road conditions before you travel in the backcountry.

Prohibited activities Off-road driving or bicycling. • Campfires outside developed campgrounds. • Wood gathering. • Collecting, removing, or disturbing rocks, plants, animals, or historic artifacts. • Littering. • Discharging firearms and target shooting. • Feeding wildlife.

Pets Keep pets on a leash. • Never leave pets alone, especially in a vehicle. Temperatures inside can climb to 160°F; a pet can die quickly. • Pets are prohibited off roads and on trails.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1933		1934		1935
1937		1938		1939
1939		1940 (HTML)		1941
1941		1941		1942 (HTML)
1947		1949		cover only 1950
1953		1954		1955
1956		cover only 1957		1958
1961		1965	cover only 1966	1968	1970
1971	1974	1976		1977
1978		1979		cover only 1982
1983-1994		cover only 1998		cover only 2000-2002
cover only 2003-2013		2015-2019

Guide for Motorists 1933		Dirt Road Travel and Back Country Camping 1976	cover only Camping in Death Valley 04/1988	Golden Canyon Trail Guide Date Unknown
Scottys Castle 1995		Suggested Day Hikes Date Unknown		Hiking Trails and Crosscountry Routes Date Unknown, c1993
Hiking Telescope Peak and Wildrose Peak 1983		Hiking Telescope Peak and Wildrose Peak 1993		Suggested Mountain Bike Routes Date Unknown, c1993
73 Year Temperature Average 1/5/1985		Date Unknown		Additions to the Park 1/1995
National Park or National Monument: What is the difference 10/1994		Weather and Climate 1/1995		Day Trip to the Racetrack Date Unknown
Backcountry Roads January 2018		Backpacking December 2015		Borax: History & Uses February 2002
The Coyote Date Unknown		Day Hikes January 2012		Common Desert Plants March 2008
Devils Hole February 2007		Endemic Plants & Animals August 2008		Geology August 2013
Ghost Towns November 2005		Lost '49ers February 2002		Mammals April 2002
Mining in Death Valley March 2006		Reptiles, Amphibians, & Fish April 2002		Road Grades February 2002
Sand Dunes Date Unknown		Star Wars Filming Locations Date Unknown		Twenty Mule Teams August 2002
Ubehebe Crater March 2007		Wildflowers February 2004		Sidewinder & Willow Canyon April 2004
Cactus & Succulents 2002		Desert Wildlife Date Unknown		Eureka Dunes Date Unknown
General Information 09/2007		Mountain Biking 10/2005		The Racetrack Date Unknown
Rhyolite 05/2002		Weather and Climate 09/2012
Corkscrew Peak Date Unknown		Desolation Canyon Date Unknown		Fall Canyon Date Unknown
Mosaic Canyon Date Unknown		#6 Racetrack Valley Road September 2012		Wildrose Peak Date Unknown
Cottonwood / Marble Canyon Loop Date Unknown		Golden Canyon, Gower Gulch & Badlands Date Unknown		Little Bridge Canyon Date Unknown
Telescope Peak Date Unknown		Titus Canyon September 2002
Death Valley Jeep Roads Date Unknown		Backcountry Roads 2006		Backcountry & Wilderness Access Date Unknown
Death Valley Borax December 1983	cover only Death Valley Borax December 1983	Eureka Valley Dunes Date Unknown	Fishes, Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals Date Unknown	Birds March 1958	Birds of Death Valley 2017
A Christian Ministry in the National Parks 12/23/1962		cover only Trail Guide to Golden Canyon c1978		cover only Salt Creek Nature Trail 1978
cover only Sand Dunes Story c1978		cover only Badwater Self-Guiding Auto Tour 09/1979		cover only A Walking Tour of Death Valley Ranch 1981
cover only A Walking Tour of Scottys Castle 1985		cover only A Walking Tour of Scottys Castle 2000		Scotty's Castle Date Unknown	Scotty's Castle Date Unknown
Picture-Taking in Death Valley National Monument 1976	Stovepipe Date Unknown
Trading Cards
(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

Mammals of Death Valley Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series (Joseph Grinnell, Vol. XXIII No. 9, August 7, 1937)

Mapping Wilderness Character in Death Valley National Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/DEVA/NRR-2012/503 (James Tricker, Peter Landres, Sandee Dingman, Charlie Calagan, John Stark, Leah Bonstead, Kelly Fuhrmann and Steve Carver, April 2012)

Natural Resource Condition Assessments for Six Parks in the Mojave Desert Network NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/MOJN/NRR-2019/1959 (Erica Fleishman, Christine Albano, Bethany A. Bradley, Tyler G. Creech, Caroline Curtis, Brett G. Dickson, Clinton W. Epps, Ericka E. Hegeman, Cerissa Hoglander, Matthias Leu, Nicole Shaw, Mark W. Schwartz, Anthony VanCuren and Luke Z. Zachmann, August 2019)

Scotty's Castle: Death Valley's Fabulous Showplace (Dorothy Charles, extract from The Denver Westerners Roundup, Vol. 64 No. 5, September-October 2008; ©Denver Posse of Westerners, all rights reserved)

The Bighorn of Death Valley Fauna of the National Parks of the United States No. 6 (Ralph E. Welles and Florence B. Welles, 1961)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

cover only Old Ranger's Yarns of Death Valley Theodore Johnson 1933	cover only Ballarat 1897-1917 Facts and Folklore Paul B. Hubbard, Doris Bray and George Pipkin, comp. 1965	cover only A Guidebook to the Mojave Desert of California Russ Leadabrand 1966	cover only Exploring Death Valley Ruth Kirk 1965
cover only Death Valley Scotty: The Man and the Myth Hank Johnston 1972	cover only Death Valley Ghost Towns Stanley W. Paher 1973	cover only A Naturalist's Death Valley Dr. Edmund C. Jaeger 1975	cover only Exploring Death Valley Ruth Kirk 1976
cover only Death Valley Geology: Rocks and Faults, Fans and Salts Wes Hildreth 1976	cover only Inside...Death Valley Chuck Gebhardt 1980	cover only Death Valley Ghost Towns Volume II Stanley W. Paher 1981	cover only Death Valley Past and Present: Guide and Reference Book Cliff McAdams 1981
cover only Geological Story of Death Valley Thomas Clements 1982	cover only Death Valley National Monument: A Pictorial History James W. Cornett 1986	cover only Desert Shadows Bob Murphy 1986	cover only Death Valley Tailings George Koenig 1986
cover only Death Valley & The Amargosa: A Land of Illusion Richard E. Lingenfelter 1986	cover only Death Valley—its Impounded Americans Ralph P. "Pete" Merritt, Jr. 1987	cover only Road Guide to Death Valley Barbara and Robert Decker 1989	cover only The Explorer's Guide to Death Valley National Park T. Scott Bryan and Betty Tucker-Bryan 1995
cover only Geology of Death Valley National Park Marli B. Miller and Lauren A. Wright 2007	cover only Hiking Death Valley: Guide to Its Natural Wonders and Mining Past Michel Digonnet 2007	cover only Death Valley National Park: A History Hal K. Rothman and Char Miller 2013	cover only Ghost Riders in the Sky: The Life of Stan Jones Michael K. Ward 2014
cover only Devils Hole Pupfish: The Unexpected Survival of an Endangered Species in the Modern American West Kevin C. Brown 2021