Deadly temperatures are reached in California’s Death Valley

While most Americans want to escape the heat, around 1.1 million people make their way there every year: to Death Valley National Park in California.

The deserted region is considered one of the hottest places on Earth. In fact, it holds the record for the highest temperature ever officially recorded: 134 degrees Fahrenheit, measured in July 1913.

Ty O’Neil, a journalist with the Associated Press, explained that although he grew up in the desert, this was “a completely different heat.”

On a recent visit, French, Spanish, English and Swiss tourists left their air-conditioned rental cars and camper vans to take photos of the barren landscape, so different from the snow-capped mountains and rolling green hills they know from home.

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“Just because the sun goes down doesn’t mean it’s actually going to cool down. I was out until about 12:30 a.m. last night and the temperature never dropped below 100 degrees,” O’Neil said.

American adventurers like the novelty, even though park officials in California are urging visitors to be cautious.

Drew Belt, a resident of Tupelo, Mississippi, wanted to stop in Death Valley on his way to Mount Whitney in California, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, because it is the lowest elevation in the United States. He said, “My voice immediately got hoarse when I walked outside, and you can feel it in your eyes, and normally a breeze is cool. This is not a cool breeze at all.”