Death Valley Junction, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Death Valley Junction is a tiny Mojave Desert community in unincorporated Inyo County, California, at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, just east of Death Valley National Park. The zip code is 92328, the elevation is 2,041 ft (622 m)., and the population less than 20. The community is located at NAD27 coordinates . The U.S. Geological Survey lists a historic variant name of Amargosa for the community which is shown as the primary name on an official State of Nevada map from 1971. Its existence and name are official with a USGS feature ID of 1656477. The default format for wired phone numbers in this community is (760) 852-xxxx.
Death Valley Junction is home to the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel, where resident Marta Becket has put on a dance and mime show since the late 1960s.
The hotel is operating and the shows continue at the opera house, but beyond these maintained areas the town is in a state of disrepair. There are no restaurants and no gas stations. The opera house also runs the small Amargosa Airport that is located 1-mile (2 km) west of the town.
The community's location on the east side of Death Valley is south of Nevada's Amargosa Valley and near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. South on SR127 is the town of Shoshone, California. The closest straight-line distance to the Nevada state line is roughly five miles northeast.
Government documents show an effort by the Timbisha Shoshone tribal government to acquire about 7,200 acres (29 km²) in the area during 1999 to 2000. This includes areas for residences and the official federal sanction to use some government lands for traditional ceremonies. It's unclear if these efforts, which were documented in the Congressional Record, succeeded.
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[edit] History
In 1914 the Death Valley Railroad started operating between Ryan and Death Valley Junction. It carried borax until 1928, when operations ceased.
From 1923 to 1925 the Pacific Coast Borax Company constructed buildings in the town.
In 1980 the town was included in the National Register of Historic Places as the "Death Valley Junction Historic District."
[edit] Telephony history
Local wired telephones were manual telephone service until the 1980s. To reach a phone here when the area was under manual service required dialing the operator and asking for Death Valley Junction, California, Toll Station (and the one-digit number). Placing an outbound call required lifting the receiver and waiting for an operator. The operator who answered was in Los Angeles. The area is now in area code 760.
At right is the bottom instruction card of Death Valley Junction #2, a non-dial Western Electric 1A1 coin collector located at the Amagosa Opera House. Picture was taken in the late 1970s.
[edit] Politics
In the state legislature Death Valley Junction is located in the 18th Senate District, represented by Republican Roy Ashburn, and in the 18th Assembly District, represented by Republican Bill Maze. Federally, Death Valley Junction is located in California's 25th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +7[1] and is represented by Republican Buck McKeon.
[edit] References
- ^ Will Gerrymandered Districts Stem the Wave of Voter Unrest?. Campaign Legal Center Blog. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
[edit] External links
- The town that Zane Grey helped build
- The Amargosa Opera House and Hotel
- Ghost Towns of Death Valley: Death Valley Junction
- Death Valley Junction, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
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