Tag: North America

An Overview of Death Valley

Describing Death Valley brings a potpourri of superlatives: hottest, driest, lowest. In
1913, the valley hit a record 134 degrees Fahrenheit! But despite its brutal image, Death
Valley is a beloved mecca for geologists and other nature lovers. It also has a colorful
history of ghost towns!

Death Valley measures approximately 3,000 square miles. It spans the border of
California and Nevada and is the principal feature of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts
Biosphere Reserve, which is devoted to ecological conservation. The diverse landscape
features desert sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, and a vast expanse of multi-hued
rock. It is also home to uniquely adapted plants and animals. Among the mammals, for
example, are the black-tailed jackrabbit, the long-tailed pocket mouse, and the chisel-
toothed kangaroo rat!

Death Valley is surrounded by several mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevadas, the
Amargosa Range, the Panamint Range, and the Sylvania and Owlshead Mountains.
Encircled by peaks, the valley has the lowest dry elevation in North America at 282 feet
below sea level. (The continents lowest point overall can be found at the bottom of Lake
Superior, but Death Valley contains the lowest spot on dry land.)

The valley is especially noted for its geologic splendor. The cliffs reveal rock layers
spanning from Precambrian to modern times. By studying the layers, geologists learn
about the earths condition in the distant past. For example, layers from the late
Pleistocene reveal that the valley was once filled by a freshwater lake, now dubbed Lake
Manly. The valley was partly filled again during flash flooding of 2004 and 2005. Still, at
that time the water was only two feet deep; before the last ice age, it measured 800 feet!

The 19th century saw many mining camps set up when rock layers revealed valuable
minerals. Men were drawn to gold and silver discoveries in the 1850s, and they mined
Borax in the 1880s. They gave their camps names like Chloride City, Skidoo, and
Panamint City. The mining camps usually became ghost towns within a few years.

In most cases, little remains of these Death Valley mining towns besides stories about
their lively inhabitants. Skidoo, for example, is marked only by a sign. It once had a
population of 700 and is infamous for having the only hanging in the valley. The hanged
man was Hootch Simpson, a down-on-his-luck saloon owner who tried to rob the town
bank. He was foiled and later returned to kill an employee! The townspeople hanged
Hootch that night. In fact, according to legend he was hanged twice: once for real and
once again for the benefit of photographers.

Visitors to Death Valley can ssee a few ghost town ruins, such as those of Panamint City.
Panamint was reputedly the roughest town in America! Its founders were outlaws hiding
from law enforcement. Although 2,000 people eventually resided there, Wells Fargo
refused to open a Panamint bank because of the inhabitants lawless reputations.

Although prospectors left the valley when mining became unprofitable, Native
Americans have lived in Death Valley for more than 1,000 years. Timbisha families, who
are part of the Shoshone tribe, still reside at Furnace Creek. They received 7,500 acres of
ancestral homeland with the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act of 2000. As of 2000,
only 31 people lived at Furnace Creek, setting the record for lowest census in the nation.
Death Valley National Park is open year-round, but considering the summer heat, most
people find the valleys winter climate more comfortable.Since 1933 Death Valley
National Park has offered extensive public works for visitors comfort. These include
developments such as campgrounds, picnic facilities, and hundreds of miles of paved
roads.
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The Crazy Horse Monument and Memorial

The Crazy Horse Monument is a Native American carving underway in the Black Hills of
South Dakota. Artists have been working on the monument since 1948. If it becomes
completed as planned, it will be the worlds largest sculpture at 641 feet (195 meters)
wide and 563 feet (172 meters) tall.

The monument commemorates Crazy Horse (circa 1840-1887), an Oglala Lakota war
leader who was well-respected by his people. He led victorious battles against many of
his tribes enemies, including (but not limited to) the Blackfoot, Crow, Pawnee,
Shoshone, and US forces.

One famous battle involving US troops was the Battle of the Rosebud in Montana
Territory. In June of 1876, Crazy Horse led a group of 1,500 Lakota and Cheyenne in a
surprise attack against Brevet Brigadier General George Crooks force of US footmen,
cavalry, and Crow and Shoshone warriors. This particular battle was a draw, with the
sides having roughly equivalent losses. However, the battle delayed Crooks troops from
meeting Lieutenant General George Custers troops at the Battle of Little Big Horn. This
contributed to the subsequent Custers Last Stand in which Custer was killed and the
Lakota-Cheyenne alliance emerged as victors.
After decades as a valiant warrior, Crazy Horse finally surrendered to the United States in
May of 1877. His people were weakened by hunger and a cold Nebraska winter. Crazy
Horse and his allies formally surrendered at the Red Cloud Agency, which was a
precursor to Indian reservations. After Crazy Horse had been living on agency property
for a few months, it seems that his words were mistranslated by a US Army scout. An
ensuing argument led to Crazy Horses death by bayonet stabbing on September 5, 1877.
His parents moved his body to an undisclosed location.
The monument was requested by Chief Henry Standing Bear of the Oglala Sioux. In
1939 he wrote to the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who was known for chiseling Mount
Rushmore. His letter included the request, My fellow chiefs and I would like the white
man to know that the red man has great heroes, too. Ziolkowski decided upon Crazy
Horse, and by 1943 the monument was underway. The site: eight miles from Mount
Rushmore, and five miles from Custer. Since the original artists death, the project has
been overseen by his wife Ruth Zioljowski and several of their children.
A milestone in carving was achieved in 1998 when Crazy Horses face was completed.
The next step involves shaping the head of his horse, which is achieved with very precise
explosions of dynamite. The horses head will include ridges to be used as access roads
for trucks hauling rock away.
Progress has been hindered by the projects non-profit status. The Crazy Horse Memorial
Foundation rejects federal funding because they have plans beyond the monument itself.
The sculpture is part of a larger vision for Crazy Horse Memorial, which already includes
an Indian Museum of North America and a Native American Cultural center. The
foundation also aims to establish and fund the University and Medical Training Center
for the North American Indian. The foundations many goals are supported mainly with
proceeds from visitors, who number about one million each year.
Although many people see the mountain carving as a great tribute to Native Americans,
others disapprove. They say that altering nature in this way is contrary to what Crazy
Horse would have wanted.
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Remember the Alamo

The Alamo, officially named the San Antonio de Valero Mission, is a former mission and
military fort in San Antonio, Texas. It is now a museum drawing people interested in
Texas history. When people say Remember the Alamo, they are referring to a
significant battle in Texass Revolution against Mexico. The entire event lasted for
thirteen days in February and March of 1836. It is famous for heavy rebel losses and
illustrious participants, including the Mexican President Santa Anna and David Crockett.

This mission was first conceived of in 1716 and a Spanish viceroy authorized its
construction. As the first in a chain of missions along the San Antonio River, it was
intended as a vocational school for Native Americans after their conversion to
Christianity. Training options included cattle-raising, weaving, carpentry, and stone
masonry. However, the church was not completed until 1757, and mission activity was
already waning by the mid-1760s! The Church abandoned the site by the 1790s.

Spanish soldiers, noting the defensive potential of the missions 12-foot walls, took over
in 1803. In the coming years, Spain and Mexico would battle for control of land in North
America. After the Mexican War of Independence in 1821, Texas became part of
Mexican territory; it was part of a new state called Coahila y Tejas.

The Mexican government encouraged people from the US to settle this land. Hundreds of
families, both American and Mexican, accepted the invitation. However, after the land
became settled and colonists formed provincial governments, the Mexican government
increased centralization of power.

Settlers became uncomfortable with President Santa Annas centralizing of government.
In their view, the 1824 Constitution of Mexico guaranteed stronger states rights.
Meanwhile, part of the centralization plan included dividing Coahila y Tejas into two
states, one of which was Tejas.

Coahila soon seceded to become part of the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande. Tejas
declared its independence on March 2, 1835 and named itself the Republic of Texas.
Settlers provoked the Mexican government early on by taking over military positions in
La Bahia and San Antonio. In response, Santa Anna assembled 6,500 soldiers and led
many to San Antonios Alamo Mission. Thousands of men may have deserted before
arrival, but still, they greatly outnumbered the rebels fortressed in the Alamo.

Although they received reinforcements, the Texan rebels were outnumbered and could
not sustain more than two weeks of attacks which inside their fortress. Ultimately, the
Mexicans penetrated the old mission and killed most of the remaining soldiers through
hand-to-hand combat. When the fighting was over, the Mexican forces left only sixteen
alive. Most of these survivors were women, slaves, and children.

Although the revolutionaries did not win the Battle of the Alamo, their battle benefited
the rebels cause overall. Emotionally, the battle stirred up settlers all across Texas and
increased their resolve against President Santa Anna. Strategically, Santa Annas troops
were stalled at the Alamo for two weeks. This allowed General Houston to assemble
soldiers and supplies for a critical upcoming battle. Houston would later defeat Mexico in
the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna would be captured while sneaking off the
next day, and the revolutionaries would go on to win their independence. From 1836 to
1845, the Republic of Texas would be a sovereign state between the US and Mexico.

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