Death Valley National Park is a
national park in the
U.S. states of
California and
Nevada that is located east of the
Sierra Nevada, occupying an interface zone between the arid
Great Basin and
Mojave deserts in the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the
Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of
salt-flats,
sand dunes,
badlands, valleys, canyons, and mountains. It is the largest national park in the lower 48 states and has been declared an
International Biosphere Reserve. Approximately 95% of the park is a designated
wilderness area. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. The second-lowest point in the
Western Hemisphere is in
Badwater Basin, which is below sea level. The park is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh
desert environment. Some examples include
creosote bush,
bighorn sheep,
coyote, and the
Death Valley pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times.