Death Valley National Park challenges first impressions. Spanning more than 3.4 million acres across California and Nevada, it is the largest national park in the contiguous United States. Across this vast expanse, salt flats, volcanic hills, sweeping sand dunes, and distant snowcapped peaks create a landscape shaped by time and extremes. From the soaring heights of Telescope Peak, which rises over 11,000 feet above the desert floor, to the depths of Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level, the park is a study in contrasts.

Rare rainstorms can trigger brief bursts of wildflowers across parts of the valley, while hidden oases sustain wildlife and more than 1,000 plant species thrive against the odds. At Badwater Basin, pictured here, the land sinks to its lowest point in North America. Its blinding white salt flats stretch to the horizon, fractured into geometric patterns that make each step feel surreal. Long before it earned its foreboding name in 1849, the Timbisha Shoshone people called this valley home.

Recognizing its unique landscapes, President Herbert Hoover designated Death Valley a national monument on this day in 1933. That protection expanded in 1994, when the California Desert Protection Act elevated it to national park status and more than doubled its size, ensuring the preservation of this extraordinary desert for generations to come.