Death Valley

134 degrees Fahrenheit - the hottest air temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth - and a real, honest scientific dispute over whether it actually happened.

This working field companion covers 70 fact-checked species and feature entries across the park's mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and desert plants - plus a dedicated section on the geology and headline features that make this park unlike any other in the National Park System. Inside: the honest, disputed story of the 1913 world heat record alongside the confirmed modern 130-degree extremes that back it up; the Devils Hole pupfish, one of the most range-restricted vertebrates on Earth, its entire wild population living on a single limestone shelf, and the real U.S. Supreme Court case that helped save it; the sailing stones of Racetrack Playa, a century-old mystery scientists only solved in 2014; Badwater Basin, the real lowest point in North America; and the rare wildflower super blooms that transform the valley floor once a decade.

What makes this park worth its own guide:
- A genuinely disputed world record, told honestly - the 1913 134-degree Fahrenheit reading and the real published science now challenging it, alongside confirmed modern 130-degree Fahrenheit extremes
- One of the rarest vertebrates on the planet - the Devils Hole pupfish, its entire wild population confined to a single water-filled cavern, and the Supreme Court case that helped protect it
- A real geological mystery, solved within the last decade - the sailing stones of Racetrack Playa, finally caught on camera by scientists in 2014
- More than two vertical miles of elevation in one park - from 282 feet below sea level at Badwater Basin to 11,049 feet at Telescope Peak

Every entry gives you three things: how to identify it, exactly where and when to look, and - for the species and features with a real story - the history that makes it worth knowing. A seasonal spotting calendar pulls trip-planning timing together (genuinely important at this park, where the wrong season is a safety issue, not just a missed photo).

This is a guide for people who want to actually understand the extremes they're standing in, not just photograph them.