Talk:Death Valley

Number of early settler/prospector train deaths should be at least 13
Though the article refers to just one recorded death, the autobiographical book "Death Valley in '49" by a member of one of the first and largest groups of prospective gold miners and their families, William Lewis Manly, refers to at least 13. 9 were potential prospectors who broke off in a group of 11 from the main train that was led by hired Mormon Capt. Jefferson Hunt, proceeding south from Salt Lake City (two made it to the gold mines, but the 9 skeletons of their comrades were later discovered all in one camp), and four were part of another group that broke off from the southward-bound group, and perished as they travelled with a team that called themselves the "Jayhawkers" led by a Capt. Doty. This book is published by "The Narrative Press", and these deaths probably ought to count as "recorded". 172.10.238.180 (talk) 05:45, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Since nearly a year later no one has commented or objected, I am changing the paragraph to reflect 13 deaths recorded by W. L. Manly; Mr. Ingram, Mr. Fish, Mr. Culverwell, Mr. Robinson and the 9 found in the camp.172.10.237.153 (talk) 21:56, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

I think the only one death is the usual narrative because only one person died in Death Valley itself, at least that's what the NPS says in their recounting of the the tale. The whole "shortcut" cost more lives, but only one in Death Valley. 130.44.142.234 (talk) 11:59, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

Celsius temperature record
Copied here from User talk:Weathereditor for the record, since this new account appears to be trying to qualify for autoconfirmed status to edit through semi-protection in favor of the excessively precise Celsius measurement:

... Please make your case for using Celsius against consensus for US locations on the article's talkpage. You have been edit-warring as an IP for several days now to do that, and you must gain consensus for your edits, as opposed to trying to force them through sheer persistence. Use the talkpage, and don't use Wikipedia as a source. Please remember also that the official temperature in the US would have been measured in Fahrenheit and then converted to the 56.7 C figure, not the other way around. The USWS/Weather Bureau measured with a thermometer in degrees F. If Celsius is reported, they normally round to the nearest whole degree C. While 134 F = 56.7 C, that is a direct conversion by someone else other than the observer using a conversion table, with a greater degree of precision than the original record. You have it backwards.  Acroterion   (talk)   17:18, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

You're actually wrong. The USWS/Weather Bureau has been using degrees Celsius and other SI units internally for some time. All of the sensors used in measuring are manufactured to produce outputs based on metric units. The foreignheat units are actually conversions from Celsius. If the Celsius readings are taken with an expensive laboratory grade thermometer, the accuracy is +/-0.1°C and if they are a commercial grade they are accurate to only +/- 1°C, despite the digital resolution. Not counting conversion rounding, the accuracy in foreignheat units would be +/-0.2 and +/-2 respectively. --Ametrica (talk) 02:49, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

Climate section: "directly overhead" or "high up in the sky"?
Wow! There are multiple issues here. I'm going to change the text to use this phrase. For now, I'll do nothing but make the small change in wording. --Larry/Traveling_Man (talk) 19:49, 31 May 2020 (UTC)
 * First, the direct issue. The change to "high up in the sky" is not sourced, but neither is the original "directly overhead". I think the original contributor was using the citation to http://stormbruiser.com/chase/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bams-84-12-1725.pdf, page 1727, item i): "Clear, dry air, and dark, sparsely vegetated land surfaces enhance the absorption of the sun’s heat, which in turn heats the near-surface air. This is especially strong in the summer when the sun is NEARLY DIRECTLY OVERHEAD [my emphasis]."
 * There's also a bigger issue. As I read it, the citation is to a document on a private website. First, the website may not pass as a reliable source; it's just someone's personal site. Second, the document is copyrighted, and not by the website owner. Wikipedia does not allow such references. I spent a few seconds looking for the original, but it's behind a paywall.

Remove all fahrenheit values as main values so that it is more in line with the standard system of units and can be compared to other places.
Well as per title, the topic has a lot of values mainly in fahrenheit. Which is a silly thing to do in an international setting, it is error prone and might lead to confusion. hence it is much better to use the standard unit for temperature: either degrees Celsius or kelvin. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.114.173.57 (talk) 22:34, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Per Wikipedia's manual of style (see WP:UNIT), "In non-scientific articles with strong ties to the United States, the primary units are US customary (pounds, miles, feet, inches, etc.)" Sooooo...Fahrenheit it is! --Larry/Traveling_Man (talk) 23:44, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Then why do some Wikipedia articles that have nothing to do with the US have American contributors forcing Evil Empire Units down the world's throat. SI units alone must appear as primary or only in all languages and all regions. --Ametrica (talk) 02:52, 19 August 2020 (UTC)


 * WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS is not considered a compelling argument in Wikipedia. We should follow the Manual of Style, and it's quite clear. In this case, Fahrenheit should be the primary unit. — hike395 (talk) 05:33, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Ew 2600:1700:4AB0:2810:2061:FAD:FDB2:3CF0 (talk) 03:07, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Corrected the max temperature ever recorded in September
On September 2nd, 2022, Death Valley hit 127 degrees Fahrenheit. The table has been updated to reflect this. 24.7.190.181 (talk) 02:59, 30 June 2023 (UTC)