Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park – the largest national park in the US – comprises more than 3.3 million acres of desert wilderness. Anthropologists estimate that roaming humans first settled in Death Valley roughly 10,000 years ago. In 1849, a group of gold rush pioneers entered the Valley, thinking it was a shortcut to California. After barely surviving the trek across the area, they named the spot “Death Valley.” (Photo credit GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)