Death Valley in California is the hottest, driest, and lowest place in North America. On 10 July 1913, a thermometer at Furnace Creek hit 56.7°C - the hottest air temperature ever officially measured anywhere on Earth.
The valley sits 86 metres below sea level and is hemmed in by tall mountains. Hot air gets trapped, sinks, and roasts the ground until it’s too hot to walk on. Modern infrared measurements have clocked the desert floor itself at over 90°C.
Death Valley also has one of geology’s weirdest mysteries: the sailing stones. Heavy rocks on a flat dry lakebed slide along the ground, leaving long trails behind them - but nobody ever sees them move. After decades of guesswork, scientists worked out that thin sheets of overnight ice push the stones along when wind blows.
