An unfathomable heat descended here on Monday, the hottest place in a rapidly warming world. At the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, a digital thermometer read 123 degrees and counting — within striking distance of the hottest temperature ever recorded on planet Earth.
By midday, the canyons and gorges of the vast park near the border of Nevada shimmered beneath the white-hot sun, but the relentless, eyeball-stinging heat wasn't enough to stop visitors from braving the danger.
"It feels like a blow-dryer in my face," said Ross Nikides, 31, who had stopped in Death Valley as part of a three-week road trip to see several national parks. "It's the hottest I've ever felt."
