Death Valley California United States of America - Elmhurst Junior School

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                       Street

                       Somerset

                       England

Death Valley
                   !
California

United States of
America

Human and Physical Geography

                                    Street                                                                    Death Valley

Population: 12,000 people live in Street currently                          Population: 320 people live in Death Valley currently.

People: English                                                             People: American

Language: English                                                           Language: English

Types of houses: Mainly brick and Blue Lias stone, with tiled roofs.        Types of houses: They build their houses out of Cob, a clay type mixture with
                                                                            straw to thicken it.
Land is used for: Farming, housing, shops and restaurants swimming          Land is used for: Mainly recreation, there are not the right conditions for
pools, parks and schools.                                                   farming or crop growing.

Economic activity: Clarks shoes HQ, shopping, shoe manufacturing            Economic activity: Lots of Death Valley residents work in tourism and help
tourism.                                                                    people who come and holiday there.

Key buildings / Landmarks: Holy Trinity Church, Hindhayes, Elmhurst         Key buildings / Landmarks: The top sites are very pretty, Dante’s view is top
School, the old Clarks factory and chimney, Greenbank pool, Crispin Hall,   rated. It is a beautiful hill and one of the best known places in Death Valley.
the Bear Inn.

Day to day life: People go to work, children go to school, all go to        Day to day life: Most peoples life in Death Valley is extremely hot, so most
restaurants, all use swimming pools.                                        people stay indoors during the hottest part of the day.

Rivers and Lakes: The river Brue that separates Street and Glastonbury.     Rivers and Lakes:In the Valley, there used to be a huge glacial lake called Lake
                                                                            Manly. Over time the water has dried up, leaving minerals and salt crust.

Land: Mostly flat, protected by hills around the south of the village.      Land: After faults formed in the earths crust, volcanic action lifted up the
                                                                            mountains but lowered the valley. Did you know that Death Valley is -86 metres
                                                                            below sea level at Badwater Basin (its lowest point)?

Mountains/ Volcanoes: None.                                                 Mountains/ Volcanoes:The highest mountain in the park is Telescope Peak,
                                                                            reaching 11, 049 feet above sea level.

Street                                                                       Death Valley

Plants: Lots of apple trees. There are good examples of native trees such    Plants: As death Valleys ground is so dry and salty, it makes it very difficult for
as Oak and Elm. Temperate climate, so lots of plants and greenery.           plants to grow, hence there are so few plants. Some have adapted to the
                                                                             landscape though, such as the Desert Holly.

Animals: Lots of birds and farmed animals, not necessarily native. Foxes,    Animals: Only specially adapted animals can live in these harsh conditions,
badgers and Hedgehogs.                                                       such as the Kangaroo Rat, who doesn’t even drink water!

Weather: Temperate climate, generally wetter and milder than the rest of     Weather: Death Valley has a hostile climate, and is one of the hottest places on
the country.                                                                 Earth. Its highest temperature recorded is 56.7 degrees centigrade. The valley
                                                                             is so dry, and gets as little as 2 inches of rain per year.

                                              This incredibly old oak (left) has
                                              lots of roots poking out of the
                                              water surrounding it. This is
                                              because, over the years, the water
                                              has worn away the land
                                              surrounding it, exposing the roots.

                                              Why is this plant white you ask?
                                              Well, this Desert Holy (right) has a
                                              clever technique for withstanding
                                              the sun. It soaks up all of the salt
                                              and moisture in the ground and
                                              forces it into its leaves. This
                                              changes the colour of them to
                                              silver, that reflects the sun’s rays,
                                              so the Desert Holly can survive the
                                              devastating heat of the Valley.

Greenbank pool (left) was donated to the
         people of the town by the Clarks family
         in 1934. This building is still a working
         outdoor swimming pool, open in the
         Summer.

         This is what the streets of Death Valley
         are like. Mostly restaurants and hotels,
         as only 320 people actually live there.
         It has lots of palm trees because it is
         very hot and dry, perfect for these
         trees.

Clarks Head Office (left) is the Clarks
family’s office, where they discussed
plans for their business and created a
global company from this small town.

  Dante’s view is a large, well known
  hill on the edge of Death Valley. On
  this hill, you can see all of the
  Valley! Lots of people go there on
  trips and it is the most visited
  mountain in Death Valley.