The Tale of How Death Valley Got its Name

The Tale of How Death Valley Got its Name

How did Death Valley get its name it’s time to tell a story The Tale behind how Death Valley got its name is one of Dreams tragedy and perseverance the year was 1849 news of gold discovered in California spread like wildfire and this year thousands of people made their way

There in Hope hope of a new and better life one of these groups of hopefuls came from Salt Lake City Utah they were eager to get on the road but they feared that the weather might have other plans for them the journey to California from Salt Lake City required them to pass

Over the Sierra Nevada mountains but everyone knew all too well not to do this late in the year too late of a departure and you risked getting caught in the deadly snowstorms that bombarded the mountains this wasn’t just a cautionary belief either it was a sure fire warning these Salt Lake City

Hopefuls could freshly recall the tragic tale of a group just a few years prior who had attempted to pass over the mountains during the winter their name was the Donner Party and only 48 members of their nearly 90 person group survived the Don party set off looking for a

Better life much like the Salt Lake hopefuls they heard of a shortcut they could take to California one that shaved off nearly 300 miles from their trip it sounded too good to be true and as they would find out it was they encountered numerous obstacles on their journey and

The so-called shortcut delayed their arrival into the Sierra Nevada mountains by the time they got to the mountains winter was in full swing and they found themselves trapped in a snowstorm the details of how they survived this are gruesome and tragic and perhaps the most important piece pie of advice comes from

A 13-year-old Survivor she wrote to her cousin in a letter after making it out of the mountains alive and offered up the warning to never take any shortcuts this story was fresh in everyone’s Minds in 1849 as they waited to depart Salt Lake City and understandably no one planned to risk

Getting caught by the weather unfortunately it was looking like the Salt Lake hopefuls were going to have to wait until the winter ended to make their Trek into California that is until they heard about the Old Spanish Trail the Old Spanish Trail was rumored to go around

The mountains instead of through them so it was safe to travel in the winter except there was only one problem with this no Pioneer wagon like them had ever made the track and they could only find one guy in town that knew the trail and was willing to take them so I guess

Technically that’s two problems this man’s name was Captain Jefferson Hunt and the saltlike hopefuls that embarked marked alongside him were known as the San hen company the pace of their Journey was slow and steady and some feared that it was too slow Captain hunt would only go as fast as the slowest

Wagon so that he didn’t leave anyone behind but other Travelers became very impatient with this the restlessness Among The Travelers continued to grow until one day a man rode into camp on his horse and promised a solution to their problem a shortcut called Walker pass that would shave nearly 500 M off

Their long journey he showed these people a handdrawn map of the so-called shortcut they figured that as long as they continued West surely they would find Walker pass so the majority of these 107 wagons Left Behind Captain hunt in the Old Spanish Trail in pursuit of Walker pass and their rumored

Shortcut but as soon as they began their Journey they encountered a gaping Canyon blocking their way because of this many of the Salt Lake hopefuls decided to turn back and rejoin Captain hunt but still more than 20 wagons pressed on convinced that they could go around the

Canyon and find the P after all this decision to continue is exactly what would go on to give Death Valley its name the group traversed varen valleys Summits and finally they reached a location called Groom Lake this lake is right around where the well-known Area 51 Military Base is located today

Unfortunately for these thirsty Travelers though this wasn’t as much of a lake as much as it was a salt flat or a dried up Lake where nothing but salt remains one group known as the Bennett arcan party was set on finding a water source to the distant South sat a snowy

Mountain that the Bennett arcan party thought might provide the water that they so desperately needed but the rest of the group wasn’t in agreement the other party known as The jayhawkers Wanted to stick with the original plan of heading west for them a diversion to

The South was was not the way to go so the groups went their separate ways and both experienced challenges along their routes their thirst for water continued to worsen until both groups were on the brink of Dying of Thirst but then just as all hope seemed lost a snowstorm

Rolled in and provided the water that they so desperately needed after this the groups pressed on and at this point it had been 2 months since they left behind Captain Hunt’s Caravan this means that I had been 2 months traveling with no guidance and very limited food and

Water eventually both groups ended up in Death Valley and both groups were now faced with crossing the mountainous desert wait did I just say the mountainous desert much like the shock they had in discovering that the canyon wasn’t on their map our Travelers were also surprised to see mountains spread across

Death Valley some thought these were the SI Nevadas and that they were closing in on the end of their Journey but sadly this wasn’t the case at all these were the Panamint mountains a smaller range to the east of the Sierra Nevadas regardless though they stood

Like a great wall blocking their path to safety riches and a better life and right here is where we really see the stories of the two groups diverge so let’s begin with the jayhawkers the jayhawkers Pressed further west committed to sticking to the original plan as they neared the base of the

Panamint mountains they encountered a massive stretch of sand dunes spread over Miles and Miles these were the mosquite flat sand dunes and there was no way their wagons would be able to travel across this terrain so they decided to walk the remainder of the way the jayhawkers destroyed their wagons

And slaughtered The Oxen that they had brought with them they used the wood from the wagons to make fires and cook the meat of The Oxen after this meal it was time to set off once again but this time with no wagons no animals and only the supplies that they could carry on

Their back facts as it would turn out though this decision to cross the desert was a good one they found a path to cross through the mountains and after turning a little South they found a prominent Indian Trail they followed this Trail further south and finally after months in the wilderness they

Found their way back to civilization the Jayhawker Journey was complete but our story of the Bennett arcan party is just getting started while the jayhawkers managed to successfully cross the Panamint mountains the Bennett arcan party struggled to do so after a failed attempt to cross they retreated to the

Valley floor to rest and reconsider their options they believed that the Panamint mountains were actually the Sierra Nevadas and this was a dangerous misconception so because they thought they were right next to the Sierra Nevadas they thought that Civilization wasn’t far away so they sent two young

Men to Journey over the mountain find civilization and get some supplies these men were named William Lewis Manley and John Rogers and they set off on what would be a long and arduous Journey the men walked over 300 miles in search of help finally though they reached San

Fernando got supplies and turned around to make the Trek back they had acquired two horses and a oneeyed mule but all three animals didn’t make the Journey Back meanwhile back at Camp the hope of the benett Aran party began to dwindle William and John had been gone for

Nearly a month and a lot of people thought that they weren’t coming back as the days went on more and more began to give up on the hope that these men would come back and save them so they set off once more to find their own ways out of

The valley eventually though William and John did return to Camp with supplies and fortunately they didn’t wind up alone two families with children had stayed behind committed to trusting that the two men would return and help them one man had perish during their long wait but the rest remained alive the

Party navigated over the mountains at last and and while they were doing this they turned to gaze at the desert that they had so narrowly escaped one member is said to have proclaimed at this moment goodbye Death Valley and so the name was born after another 23 days of travel

Through the Mojave Desert the remaining members of the benett arcan party finally reached the safety of civilization their Journey was long costly and eventually the very event that brought the name of Death Valley into existence thanks so much for joining me for today’s story time and I will see you in the next

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Why is it called Death Valley? Turns out, there’s an entire story behind the naming of this National Park. If you’re wondering how Death Valley National Park got its name, you’ve come to the right place!