"Hell's Gate" looking south. On the valley floor in the distance you can see the salt flats of Badwater.
The Hell's Gate is located at the intersection of NV374
and the Beatty Cutoff road. When driving into Death Valley on NV374, this is the
pass through the eastern mountain range.
"Hell's Gate" looking south. On the valley floor
in the distance you can see the salt flats of Badwater.
Salt Creek is a small seasonal stream running along the
valley floor. During the summer months, most of the stream dries up leaving only
a few isolated pools. The stream is home to the Death Valley Pupfish.
A Death Valley Pupfish swimming in Salt Creek
Many Death Valley Pupfish
Mustard Canyon has a short (1.3mi) one-way graded road. This is a starkly beautiful place, with interesting coloration and no visible vegetation. At the start of the road are the remnants of the "Harmony Borax Works".
The white stuff in these pictures is salt.
Understandably, several people thought it was snow. This area is 100+ft below
sea level.
Here you
can see the condition of the roadway. It is easily passable by passenger
car.
Badwater is the lowest elevation in the western hemisphere at -282ft (282 ft below sea level). As you can see, the ground is coated with salt. Unfortunately, this area was pretty trampled. And it was way too hot to walk out very far to look for more pristine salt deposits.
The Artist's Drive loop is a one-way paved road, 9mi long.
The "Artist's Palette"
A sign describing the origin of the colors in the
Palette rocks.
There is a 2.6mi graded one-way road winding through the canyon.
