Resource: Runnin' with the Devil
Media Type:
QuickTime Video
Length: 1m 54s
Size: 5.2 MB
Death Valley is the lowest, hottest, driest area in North America. In the summer, temperatures commonly run above 120° Fahrenheit. The hot dry air just sucks the moisture out of the human body. A person can lose over one gallon of water just sitting in the shade on a summer day in Death Valley. In this video segment from Nature, runners try to keep their cool as they race through Death Valley.
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Transcript (Rich Text Format Document)
Loading reviews...Teachers' Domain, Runnin' with the Devil, published November 18, 2008, retrieved on ,
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/nat08.earth.clim.geog.devil/
- Background Essay
- Questions for Discussion
- Standards
Print Background EssayThe extreme climate of Death Valley is attributable to its location on the leeward (downwind) side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. Air that has been warmed and moistened by its passage over the Pacific Ocean is driven up over the Sierras as it is carried eastward by the prevailing southwesterly winds of the northern mid-latitudes.
As the air rises up over the mountains, it expands and cools, triggering condensation that forms clouds and causes precipitation on the windward (west facing) slopes. At the same time, the latent heat stored in the water vapor in the air is released by the condensation process, adding measurable heat to the air As the now warmer and drier air continues its eastward journey over the peaks and begins its descent into the valleys on the leeward side of the range, its temperature rises as it is compressed under the higher atmospheric pressure of the lower elevations. The fact that Death Valley lies below sea level causes even more compression of the descending air, creating a very hot and dry “rain shadow desert” in Death Valley.
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Source: Nature: "Life in Death Valley"
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Major corporate support for the Nature collection was provided by Canon U.S.A. and SC Johnson. Additional support was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the nation’s public television stations.