Death Valley has long been a place of fascination for people the world over, and much has been written about it. Now, however, all aspects of this famous (or infamous) desert have been brought together in this book by a distinguished scholar who culminates many years of research and professional writing on the subject of Death Valley by giving us the principal data regarding it with as little technical jargon as possible to make this unique desert of interest to the specialist and the lay reader alike. The book describes the long prehistory and history of Death Valley, including a discussion of Indian occupation and of the usefulness of tin cans, bottles, and other litter for dating some of the historical sites, especially the old trails that were abandoned when packtrain travel was replaced by vehicle travel. Death Valley"s water budget is analyzed; and the sources of water, mostly outside the valley and some far distant, are identified. We learn how the mode of occurrence and quality of water in the valley are controlled by local geology, and how the availability of water and differences in its quality are the chief factors controlling the plant geography, and how the plant geography, together with differences in the kinds of ground, has affected the animal geography. The book is lavishly illustrated with 163 photographs and line drawings, some of which may be considered works of photographic art.