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Whether it is the mysterious singing dunes or Furnace Creek, the hottest place in North America Death Valley contains a great many natural wonders, mysteries, and supposed evil. But then it's no surprise that this barren wasteland has become a magnate for the strange and unexplained. Since people first settled there, strange happenings such as rocks moving by themselves, lights in the sky, and sightings of strange and unnatural creatures have been reported. But then not everything in Death Valley is unexplained or mysteries, the desert also holds several records and places well worth a visit.

The earliest known settlers in Death Valley are the Timbisha, a group of Native Americans who lived there at least 1000 years ago. But Death Valley didn't become famous until the mid 1800s when traveling prospectors crossed it to get to San Francisco for the gold rush. Strangely only one death was ever reported in the Death Valley during the time of the gold rush, though there almost certainly have been many more. Later in the 1880s a Boron compound called Borax was discovered in the Valley's mountains bringing with it a large army of miners and businessmen. Although all the Borax was quickly mined out from the Death Valley's mountains, for the next 50 years or so less major but still significant mining continued in the Valley for gold and lead. Finally in 1933 on the 11th of February president Hoover proclaimed Death Valley a national park. In doing so Hoover protected the valley from any future mining for Borax or anything else. Today the great Boomtowns or towns that sprung up almost over night as a result of treasures found in the mountains around them have been deserted and have become nothing more than ghost towns.

In pop culture few things are more interesting then the unknown and the unsolved, fortunately for curious minds Death Valley is the go-to place for such mysteries. One of the most well known tales is the case of the moving rocks. There is a place in the heart of Death Valley called Racetrack Playa, on this stretch of the desert sit several hundred ordinary-looking rocks. These rocks have become known as the "Sailing Stones" due to the fact that they seem to be in constant motion, however no one has ever actually witnessed this phenomena as the rocks move slower then your average snail. We have no clue of why the rocks are moving, but we do know that it is not the wind as the stones are moving in different directions. Nevertheless the evidence of movement is all around. On the ground in the sand there are clear imprints of trails left by them, some of these trails stretch for hundreds of feet!

Stranger and even less plausible stories about Death Valley have also worked there way into our imagination. Stories of a race of giants who lived in the valley 80,000 years ago have also surfaced, supposedly in 1947 strange and huge mummies were dug up in the middle of Death Valley. These corpses were between 8 and 10 feet tall and were wearing a grayish material resembling sheepskin but which had come from some other unidentified animal.

Death Valley however isn't just a place steeped in folklore, it has another side, a darker side that is based in solid fact. Arguably the darkest days for Death Valley were in the 1960s when serial killer Charles Manson retreated there with a band of followers known as the Manson Family. Manson and his family had killed 7 people in an attempt to start a race war. They believed that it was there destiny to start a war between the whites and blacks and then retreat to an underground paradise, which Manson was sure existed beneath Death Valley. Unsurprisingly they found no such city and the family was forced to live at an old movie set. When the police began to arrest the family's hippie-like members for charges ranging from petty crimes to serious felonies, the town in which they were arrested received word that a family member, Susan Atkins who was in jail for car theft in Los Angeles had bragged to a fellow inmate that she had assisted in a number of murders. After an investigation, the shocked cops realized that this group of garden-variety hippies they had locked up was responsible for the most well publicized murders of the time. All the family members who were involved in the murders besides Susan Atkins who was the prosecutors star witness were sentenced to death. However in 1972 when he supreme court ruled executions unconstitutional all there sentences were commune to life without parole. Most of them are still in prison including Charles Manson himself, who is currently serving his sentence at San Quinton.

But then not everything about Death Valley is dark or mysterious. There are also plenty of amazing natural things. Certain dunes in Death Valley give of music-like sounds when sand cascades down their sides. These sounds range from a wide variety of pitches, which include everything from guitar like sounds to drum beats. Reportedly the best place to go to hear the music is Eureka Valley, which is located in Inyo County California. To get the dunes to perform is pretty straightforward just hike up to the top of the dunes and start kicking down sand. It's the best to do this on a clear day because wind can mess with the sounds made by the dunes.

Other things to experience in Death Valley are more obvious, the mountains and the valleys are both very beautiful and unique. Death Valley occupies about 3000 square miles and stretches through parts of California and Nevada. It has become a popular place for people looking for everything from a relaxing getaway, to buried treasure, to proof of aliens. The best time to visit Death Valley is in the fall or winter when it's not quite so hot. Visitors can either choose to stay in a hotel (most of which resemble small motels) or on a campsite.

Sources: Wikipedia; Weird California book; stevequayle.com; www.nps.gov

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