5 Unsolved Mysteries of the Death Valley Desert

In the depths of Death Valley's scorching and unforgiving desert, while exploring an abandoned mine shaft in the 1920s, a miner named White plummeted through the rock floor and into the middle of a stunning scene.

He found himself in a mysterious tunnel filled with gleaming gold, its walls inexplicably illuminated by a soft yellow light.

Surrounded by human mummies clad in leather, White had unwittingly stumbled upon what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient underground city, a discovery that would challenge the boundaries between myth and reality.

Fearful of being trapped, White found his way back to the mineshaft and escaped. Though he aimed to return, White never found the entrance again.

This mysterious ancient city, long whispered about in the tales of the Southern Paiute native peoples, was said to be ruled by the benevolent spirit Shin-Au-Av.

According to legend, an ancient Paiute Chief, heartbroken by the death of his wife, sought to follow her spirit into the underworld. Guided by the spirits of deceased warriors, he navigated a network of subterranean tunnels, confronting formidable beasts and malevolent spirits, until he reached the outskirts of Shin-Au-Av's domain.

There, he was met by Shin-Au-Av's daughter, who promised him a reunion with his wife's spirit under one condition: he must not look back as he led her back to the living world. However, the chief's fleeting glance back caused his wife's spirit to vanish, leaving him to return alone with tales of the incredible city.

The story of this underground city resurfaced outside of legend in 1947 when amateur archeologist Howard Hill recounted the adventures of two acquaintances named F. Bruce Russell and Daniel Bovee to the Los Angeles Transportation Club.

The two men, retired doctors with a penchant for exploration, claimed to have discovered another entrance to the lost city in the vicinity of Wingate Pass—precisely where White had his remarkable encounter.

Russell and Bovee reported findings of tunnels covered in hieroglyphs and gold, preserved prehistoric animals, and even mummies of giant men that stood nine feet tall. Despite presenting their findings to a group of archaeologists, the absence of physical evidence led to their claims being dismissed.

Their subsequent disappearance in Death Valley while searching for more signs of the city only deepened the mystery...

[ingridfong-daley]

If you found a grand, mystical, gold-walled city underground, don't you think you'd put markers in place, make a map, or even leave a trail of breadcrumbs so you'd know where it was?

[superdupercooper]

I’ve actually encountered a few European visitors that are stunned by the sheer vastness of our country.

[alden]

It may be worth mentioning that many Germans, and Europeans in general (though my personal experience was with visiting German friends) have a poor conception of the sheer size if the United States, of the vast distances even within a single State. My friends had a very real intention of visiting Florida, New York, California, and Oregon, traveling by car, within a few days. They thought it was perfectly reasonable to expect to be able to cross the country in less than a day, by road. As I understand it, being used to travel anywhere within Europe by land within a few days, at most. I had to tactfully explain that just the north-south span of California, alone, is longer than the broadest linear swath of the BRD. It wouldn't surprise me if the lost family simply miscalculated the distance they would be from help, should they find themselves in trouble. I'm speculating, of course, but it's possible.

[forrrrestjohncave]

I appreciate that your b-roll is actually relevant to what you are talking about. A lot of these channels show random footage of things completely unrelated to the topic and it can be super infuriating.

[javigurrol]

Old west mysteries… keep them coming!!!!

[anonymousguy]

As a father, stories about kids going missing like this or being left by their parents for mysterious reasons always make me want to hold my kid and have him know with no doubt how much I love him.

[sparkplug]

Done a lot of off roading out there, never encountered anything stranger than German tourists.
For some reason they have a particular fascination with the area, never quite understood why though

[jasong]

I got driven out to the Salton Sea one day in 2011 and that was another world on it's own. I cannot imagine what one sees within 100-200 miles of there.

[DoveOfHope]

You should make a playlist of all of the songs that you used before you did the voiceover. The OGs know. Thanks for all your hard work, man. Always interesting videos

[cheshur]

I used to work out in the Mojave, there’s a couple strange places I’ve been through out there.

The first was Eagle Mountain, an abandoned mining town on a mountain with a bunch of abandoned houses and a school. Oddly enough the school is still used for children of whose parents work at a nearby substation that moves water from the Colorado river out to California.

The other is Cadiz. An abandoned resort town, where plenty of building still stand, hours away from any real civilization.

[Arkie]

A couple people have mentioned Orpheus and Eurydice in connevtion to the underground city. You have to wonder how such far flung cultures who ostensibly never met could have a nearly identical tale.

[bullitt]

Never have, never will, and wouldn't go by gunpoint...

[raphaelargus]

Some of the pics are of Spahn Ranch, not Barker Ranch.

[williambertels]

Staring at that van for 5 minutes scared the crap outta me

[innerviews]

I wonder if Dave Paulides of Missing 411 covered this?

[wrongfootmcgee]

redoubtable
excellent word
+1000 pts to Dark5

[Asianevermore]

Are you sure you’re human? You have such a good AI voice

[ModPlaythruChannel]

There's a native reserve that is still inhabited out in the desert somewhere but you can only access it by hiking. I forgot where but it sounds like the last story.

[louithrottler]

Greed - the unfortunate hazard afflicting humanity from time immemorial

[JFSmith-nbhf]

Spent a lot of time in DV, love the place. Been to Barker a couple of times, not much left, but still creepy.