HOTTEST SPOT ON EARTH

Evening Star, Issue 21715, 9 May 1934, Page 7

HOTTEST SPOT ON EARTH

DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA The hottest spot in the world, is Death Valley, an avid, sunken plain in California, about twelve miles in width and 150 miles in length. its maximum temperature of 160 deg Fahrenheit has never been equalled elsewhere. Even at midnight the mercury hovers round- 120 deg, and so hot does the earth become in summer that a rock or a piece of iron scorches the naked hand. It is from the district that the world obtains its supply ot borax, which used to be hauled by specially-built motor lorries to the nearest railway station, 165 miles distant. Driving the lorries in the more torrid season proved fearfully trying. Drivers have been found dead, yet holding a canteen oi water in their hand. In a. few hours the water carried in tbe tank became so heated by the sun’s rays that frequently it was pumped into the boiler almost at the steam-producing stage. Engineers have now Jinked the most important mines with the outside world by railway. This has meant the erection of miles of trestle embankments made from stout timber. What the men dreaded was not the loneliness of their surroundings, but tbe pitiless suit. Some idea of the intense beat experienced may be imagined when it is stated that a writing desk provided for the engineer curled, split, and fell to pieces in a few days.