in pictures Death Valley: The Continuing Story

Death Valley National Park is properly labeled the driest place in the United States. Yet water's past presence here is obvious. Spring wildflowers along a canyon floor are colorful proof of storms six months past. Winter storms temporarily dust upper slopes with snow.

Death Valley National Park, located in eastern California and western Nevada, was first set aside in 1933 to preserve this unique desert that includes the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.