Sand Dunes, Death Valley, California
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 36° 36.416 W 117° 06.894
11S E 489724 N 4051276
A view of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park is shown on this stamp marking the hottest spot in the United States.
Waymark Code: WMXQ5Z
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/11/2018
Views: 7
In 2006 the U.S. Postal Service issued a pane of 40 stamps entitled “Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives.” The 40 different stamps show natural or man-made entities or phenomena which represent the biggest, tallest, fastest etc. of their respective genre. The “superlative” denoted on this particular stamp is the place with the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States: 134.1 °F at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California (July, 1913).
The image on the stamp shows the sand dunes at Mesquite Flat near Stovepipe Wells (at least the top part of the image does). Sand dunes constantly change and shift around but the mountains in the background do not (well, maybe in a million years or so). Death Valley is part of the Great Basin desert which stretches from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Wasatch Range in Utah. A common misconception is that deserts consist mainly of sand. There’s actually very little sand in Death Valley (less than 1% by area). Mesquite Flat is the largest area of sand dunes in the park.
And how hot is it here? At one point during my visit, my car’s thermometer registered 117 °F. That’s about average for Death Valley in July but a personal high for me. And speaking of superlatives, Death Valley is not only the hottest spot in the United States but it also contains the lowest spot: the Badwater Basin at 282 ft. below sea level.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 27-May-2006
Denomination: 39 cents
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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