Death Valley and the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion

This is the history of Death Valley, where that bitter stream the Amargosa dies. It embraces the whole basin of the Amargosa from the Panamints to the Spring Mountains, from the Palmettos to the Avawatz. And it spans a century from the earliest recollections and the oldest records to that day in 1933 when much of the valley was finally set aside as a National Monument.

This is the story of an illusory land, of the people it attracted and of the dreams and delusions they pursued—the story of...