Furnace Creek, California

History

Francis Marion Smith and William Tell Coleman's company, the Harmony Borax Works**,** established Greenland Ranch in 1883, named after the green alfalfa fields which they planted there. They established a weather station at the ranch in 1891. Greenland Ranch was renamed Furnace Creek Ranch in 1933.

The Timbisha tribe currently live at the Death Valley Indian Community reservation here. They provided many of the artisans and builders to construct the original Fred Harvey Company resort buildings, the Indian Village, and Park Service structures. They compose the majority of residents of Furnace Creek's permanent population at the tribe's reservation. Furnace Creek was formerly the center of Death Valley mining and operations for the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the historic 20-Mule Teams hauling wagon trains of borax across the Mojave Desert.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Furnace Creek has a total area of 31.5 sqmi, all land.

Springs in the Amargosa Range created a natural oasis at Furnace Creek, which has subsequently dwindled due to diversion of this water to support the village.

Climate

Furnace Creek, like the rest of Death Valley, has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh), with long, extremely hot summers; short, very mild winters; and little rainfall. Daytime temperatures range from roughly 65 °F in December to 116 °F in July, while overnight lows typically oscillate from 40 to. From 1911 through 2006, a period of 95 years, Furnace Creek had an average high temperature of 91.4 °F and an average low temperature of 62.9 °F. During that period, the hottest month was July, with an average daily high temperature of 116.5 °F, and the driest month was June, with an average monthly precipitation of 0.05 in. Furnace Creek holds the record for the most consecutive days above 120 °F: 43 days, from July 6 through August 17, 1917. The average temperature of July 2018 was 108.1 F, which is the highest temperature of any month for any place in the world.

Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in the world, reaching 134 °F on July 10, 1913. Some meteorologists dispute the accuracy of this measurement.

In addition, a ground temperature of 201 F was recorded in Furnace Creek on July 15, 1972; this may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded. (Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 50 to 90 °F [28 to 50 °C].) The former world record for the highest overnight low temperature was 110.0 °F, set on July 5, 1918, in Furnace Creek.

| Jan record high F = 90 | Feb record high F = 97 | Mar record high F = 104 | Apr record high F = 113 | May record high F = 122 | Jun record high F = 129 | Jul record high F = 134 | Aug record high F = 130 | Sep record high F = 127 | Oct record high F = 114 | Nov record high F = 98 | Dec record high F = 89 | year record high F = 134 | Jan avg record high F = 78.4 | Feb avg record high F = 85.1 | Mar avg record high F = 95.4 | Apr avg record high F = 106.0 | May avg record high F = 113.6 | Jun avg record high F = 122.0 | Jul avg record high F = 125.9 | Aug avg record high F = 124.0 | Sep avg record high F = 118.1 | Oct avg record high F = 106.2 | Nov avg record high F = 90.0 | Dec avg record high F = 77.8 | year avg record high F = 126.7 | Jan avg record low F = 30.5 | Feb avg record low F = 36.1 | Mar avg record low F = 42.8 | Apr avg record low F = 49.8 | May avg record low F = 58.5 | Jun avg record low F = 67.9 | Jul avg record low F = 78.3 | Aug avg record low F = 75.3 | Sep avg record low F = 65.4 | Oct avg record low F = 49.5 | Nov avg record low F = 35.9 | Dec avg record low F = 29.0 | year avg record low F = 28.0 | Jan record low F = 15 | Feb record low F = 20 | Mar record low F = 26 | Apr record low F = 35 | May record low F = 42 | Jun record low F = 49 | Jul record low F = 62 | Aug record low F = 65 | Sep record low F = 41 | Oct record low F = 32 | Nov record low F = 24 | Dec record low F = 19 | year record low F = | access-date = October 11, 2021 | access-date = June 12, 2021

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2000 2010

Furnace Creek first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.

At the 2020 United States Census, Furnace Creek had a population of 136. The population density was 4.3 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup was 79 (58.1%) White, 2 (1.5%) African American, 14 (10.3%) Native American, 3 (2.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 16 (11.8%) from other races, and 22 (16.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33 persons (24.3%)..

There were 100 households, out of which 5 (5.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 17 (17.0%) were married-couple households, 6 (6.0%) were cohabiting couple households, 18 (18.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 59 (59.0%) had a male householder with no partner present. 68 households (68.0%) were one person, and 20 (20.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.36. The population consisted of 10 people (7.4%) under 18, 12 (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 29 (21.3%) aged 25 to 44, 45 (33.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 40 (29.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 56.0 years.

There were 135 housing units at an average density of 4.3 /mi2, of which 100 (74.1%) were occupied. Of these, 25 (25.0%) were owner-occupied, and 75 (75.0%) were occupied by renters.

Government

In the state legislature, Furnace Creek is in , and .

Federally, Furnace Creek is in .

Tourist facilities

The village is surrounded by a number of National Park Service public campgrounds. The Ranch at Death Valley is located there, part of the Oasis at Death Valley, one of the park's major tourist facilities. The Furnace Creek Golf Course attached to the ranch claims to be the lowest in the world at 214 ft below sea level. Some lodging is closed in the summer when temperatures can exceed 125 °F, but the golf course remains open; the resort established a summer tournament in 2011 called the Heatstroke Open which drew a field of 48. There is also a restaurant, café, store, and gas station in Furnace Creek village. The Furnace Creek Airport is located about 0.75 mi west of the park headquarters.

California Historical Landmark

Near Furnace Creek is California Historical Landmark number 442, Death Valley '49ers Gateway, assigned on October 24, 1949. The marker is at the corner of State Route 190 and Badwater Road.

The California Historical Landmark reads: :NO. 442 DEATH VALLEY GATEWAY – Through this natural gateway the Death Valley '49ers, more than 100 emigrants from the Middle West seeking a shortcut to gold fields of central California, entered Death Valley in December 1849. All suffered from thirst and starvation. Seeking an escape from the region, two contingents went southwest from here, while the others proceeded northwest. : It is these emigrants who are said to have given Death Valley its uninviting name.

Notes

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Explore Census Data".
3. {{GNIS. 2408270
4. "disaster Directory inyo county".
5. [https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/index.htm NPS- Death Valley Visitor Center] (accessed 4/11/2010).
6. "Furnace Creek Resort".
7. [http://www.timbisha.org/history.htm Timbisha Shoshone Tribe History] (accessed 4/10/2010)
8. [http://www.timbisha.org/ The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, Death Valley] (accessed 4/10/2010)
9. [https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyculture/index.htm NPS- Death Valley History] (accessed 4/11/2010)
10. "Furnace Creek: Focus on Water". US Geological Survey report.
11. "Weather and Climate - Death Valley National Park". National Park Service.
12. (July 2007). "Weather and Climate Death Valley National Park". U.S. National Park Service.
13. "Death Valley Sets New Global Record for Hottest Single Month". Wunderground.
14. (7 August 2017). "Death Valley just experienced the hottest month ever recorded on Earth". The Washington Post.
15. El Fadli, Khalid Ibrahim. (September 2012). "World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58°C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (13 September 1922)". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
16. Masters, Jeff. "Historic Heat Wave {{sic". Wunderground.
17. Burt, Christopher. "An Investigation of Death Valley's 134°F World Temperature Record". Wunderground.
18. Kubecka, Paul. (July 2001). "A possible world record maximum natural ground surface temperature". Weather.
19. (2011). "Satellite Finds Highest Land Skin Temperatures on Earth". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
20. "July Daily Normals And Records". [[National Weather Service]].
21. "Decennial Census by Decade".
22. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
23. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
24. "Furnace Creek CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
25. "Furnace Creek CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
26. "Senators". State of California.
27. "Members Assembly". State of California.
28. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 8
29. Yoon, Peter. (August 17, 2011). "This is what 18 in hell feels like". ESPNLosAngeles.com.
30. [https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-442 californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmarks chl-442]
31. Dotson, Danny. "Research Guides: National Parks: Death Valley National Park".