FURNACE CREEK - The Hottest Town On Earth - Why Do 136 People Live Here?

I visited the Hottest Place in the World, which is also the Hottest, Driest, Lowest Elevation Town in the United States, chatted with some locals & tourists, and experienced highest recorded temperature of 2024 in America.

Furnace Creek, a remote small town in Eastern California is a beautiful resort town in Death Valley National Park which also holds the record as the Hottest Town on Earth, with an average July high temperature of 126°F. It recorded not only highest ever recorded temperature of 134°F on July 10, 1913, but is also the only place which has multiple verified temperatures OVER 130°F.

What is life really like in Inyo County and Death Valley National Park? And why do 300 to 600 residents choose to live in one of the most inhospitable regions of the world? Join me on this epic road trip to find out.

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[FromHeretoThere]

Should I visit the Coldest Town in America next?

[RumCaptain]

The dudes who build and maintain the roads here need appreciation.

[jumpywizard]

I’m from France and me and my friends went to Death Valley thinking it’d be a one week long nature stop before heading for Vegas. It was all going amazingly well until our car broke down on the 5th day in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere lol, our phones were all overheating and we were stranded until a very nice elderly couple from Colorado stopped. They were so nice! We managed to cool our phones with their car’s AC and to call the rental company who just told us to leave the car there. And the couple took all three of us to Vegas! Definitely wanna go back!

[Brilembi]

I was raised in the coldest city on Earth, Yakutsk, Russia. I visited Death Valley a few years ago and it is wild to go from one extreme to another. It was hard for me to be outside for too long at all without the risk of getting heat stroke.

[Orangeshebert]

I love Death Valley. Went there as a teenager and have longed to go back. I’m 62 and a widow now. Never wanted to force my family into a vacation there. Your video reignited my passion! 2025 I will be in Death Valley,

[BoomerEliteu]

During my first deployment I was stationed with a dude who was from death valley. He wasn't phased by the heat in Kuwait, lol.

[TheCaptnHammer]

Park Ranger here. I went to thank you for not only showcasing our parks, but doing so in an informative manner. Ranger, you did a great job on the interview! Clear skies everyone!

[kolanos]

Stayd at the Furnace Creek Inn ~25 years ago. Memory that sticks out was swimming in the pool after sunset and looking up at the stars. The stars were very bright. Then all of sudden they blinked out. At first we thought maybe clouds, but then we started hearing faint squeaks and realized there were thousands of bats flying overhead.

[RiffRaffDJ]

I grew up in Death Valley as a kid. My dad was a park ranger there and for a few years in the early 1980s we lived there. What you thought was the elementary school, is indeed the school there. I went to first, second and third grades there. There are two types of people who work in Death Valley for the Park Service. Full time, and seasonal. Upper was for full-time, lower was for seasonal. However when I lived there we lived in the lower area because there was not enough room for full-time employees in the upper area. There were more full-time employees than there was permanent housing for them. There has been more permanent housing constructed since then. The lower area is affectionately called The Boneyard. I learned to ride a bike there. When I lived there, the lower area was just a bunch of mobile homes. The Park Service got rid of them after we moved away, and built an apartment complex for seasonals.There is a swimming pool for employees and their families there as well. The community is bare bones, but, it's nice nonetheless. Good people. Always willing to help.

[kSteedaGT]

That park ranger was SO well-spoken. Seems like a really good guy!

[ejr]

25 miles away is Mt Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48. Unbelievable geography.

[andrewnorris]

It looked a bit depressing. Then you met that guy! So positive and living his best life. Really inspiring guy.

[brhbrh]

Iceland Park Ranger (Landvörður) here. Thanks to Mathew the National Park Warden for such succint answers, coupled with his obvious passion and enthusiasm for his vocation.

[Pencil-op]

Despite of low population the Furnace Creek is surprisingly well kept. It doesn’t look abandoned or anything.

[JBoya]

We used to live about 90 miles from there. Our temps only got to 115 or so. Still, we used to run in the summer at lunchtime. It is so dry (5% humidity) that any sweat instantly evaporates and cools you down. And you had views for 50-100 miles every day. Great weather for flying fast jets!

Beautiful area and land of contrast. 80 miles from Badwater, the lowest spot in the Continental US (-200 feet) and Mount Whitney the highest spot (14, 000+).

[trevorjenkins]

Possibly one of the most interesting programmes I've seen on YouTube. Thank you for making it.

[e.p.]

Stayed in a mobile home for 4th of July weekend this year at Desert Hot Springs. Temps reached 125 degrees, our AC unit broke at 9pm at night, my husband said we'll leave in the morning. I said we are leaving now, I was so thankful for that ac in his truck as we drove home late that night!

[bluewave]

The picnic table chef guy was the coolest interview!

[xipietotec]

85% of the world’s supply of Borax is still mined in nearby Boron.

And you can still find the mule team stops in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

[TravelFilming]

Very comprehensive and nice video of the place. Worked as an exchange student on a summer job visa from the Netherlands there back in the summer of 1994. It was so tranquil. Worked in the kitchen of the Furnace Creek Ranch and Hotel mostly making sandwiches for the occasional day visitors from LA. Stayed in one of those bungalows you showed. No internet or mobile phones back then so the only news was the LA Times newspaper which arrived always a day late. Have been back once (in 2018) since and it is still an amazing place.