Dante's View facts for kids
Dante's View is an amazing viewpoint high up in the Black Mountains. It sits at about 1,669 meters (5,476 feet) above sea level. From here, you can look down over the huge Death Valley. This special spot is located about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Furnace Creek inside Death Valley National Park.
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Exploring the Viewpoint
When you arrive at the Dante's View parking lot, you can choose from a few paths. One path takes you right to the very edge. From there, you get an incredible wide-angle view of the whole valley. Another path goes north for about 320 meters (350 yards). This path leads to a nice rest area with picnic tables.
The best time to visit Dante's View is in the cool morning. This is when the sun is in the east, making the views even clearer. Dante's View is also a perfect place for looking at stars at night. Many people bring telescopes to enjoy the clear, dark skies.
What You Can See from Dante's View
Dante's View offers a stunning look at the southern part of the Death Valley basin.
- To the south, you can see the Owlshead Mountains, which are about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away.
- Looking north, the Funeral Mountains are visible about 50 kilometers (31 miles) in the distance. They are beyond Furnace Creek.
- To the west, across the Badwater Basin, you'll see the Panamint Range. This mountain range rises dramatically, with Telescope Peak as its highest point.
- To the east, you can spot the Greenwater Range.
On very clear days, you might even see the highest and lowest points in the lower 48 United States! These are Mount Whitney, which is 4,421 meters (14,505 feet) high, and Badwater, which is 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level.
Right below Dante's View, to the west-northwest, is a part of the Devil's Golf Course. It looks like a huge, sparkling ocean, but it's actually solid halite salt! This salt crust is usually 1 to 2 meters (3 to 7 feet) thick. After it rains in winter, the water dissolves the salt. Then, as the water dries up, the salt forms new, interesting shapes.
Also to the west-northwest, directly under Dante's View, is the famous Badwater Basin.
Across the Badwater Basin to the west, you can see the Panamint Range. You might even spot Trail Canyon, Death Valley Canyon, and Hanaupah Canyon. At the very top of the Panamints, Telescope Peak is about 3,367 meters (11,047 feet) high and 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.
To the south, you can clearly see the Owlshead Mountains. To the east, you can see the Great Basin ranges that are in Nevada.
How Dante's View Got Its Name
Dante's View is named after Dante Alighieri. He was a famous writer who wrote a book called the Divine Comedy. In this book, he described different levels of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
The name was chosen in April 1926. Some businessmen from the Pacific Coast Borax Company were looking for the best view of Death Valley. They almost picked a different spot called Chloride Cliff. But then, Charlie Brown, a local deputy sheriff, took them to this spot in the Black Mountains. The group was immediately amazed by the view. They quickly decided to call it Dante's View because it reminded them of Dante's descriptions.
How the Mountains Were Formed
Dante's View is part of the Black Mountains, which are also part of the Amargosa Range. These mountains were formed a very long time ago during the Mesozoic Era. Back then, the Earth's surface was being stretched apart. This stretching caused the land to crack and break.
When the crust broke, hot lava from deep inside the Earth erupted. This lava then cooled and piled up on top of older rocks. This process helped create the tall mountains we see today.
Dante's View in Movies
Dante's View was used as a filming location for the famous 1977 movie Star Wars. In the movie, this spot was used to show the fictional spaceport of Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine. The city itself was added into the scene later using a special painting technique called a matte painting.
Images for kids
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Dante's View panorama before sunrise
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Dante's View panorama
