Furnace Creek Airport is a public
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located 0.75 miles (1 km) west of
Furnace Creek,
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...
, serving
Inyo County
Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. This
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport covers 40 acres (16 ha) and has one
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
. At −210 feet (−64 m)
MSL,
it is the
lowest elevation airport in North America.
History
The original airfield, was built in 1929 by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. It served as an emergency landing field for Army and Navy military aircraft during WWII, and brought tourists into the newly declared National Monument.
The current airfield was opened in May 1954, one mile west of the previous landing strip along
State Route 190, adjacent to Sunset Campground. The prior airfield is visible in aerial imagery, but is now used only as an overflow area for Sunset Campground during busy periods, such as the
'49ers Encampment. For the first several years it was open, the airfield was plagued with problems with the pavement; the entirety of the 5,500 foot runway originally built quickly deteriorated and had to be repaired almost immediately after opening.
The current runway is thinner and shorter, though the older pavement is still visible in satellite imagery.
See also
*
California World War II Army Airfields
*
List of places on land with elevations below sea level
This is a list of places on land below mean sea level.
Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc., are not included. Places ...
*
List of extreme points of the United States
This is a list of points in the United States that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation, extreme distances and other points of peculiar geographic interest ...
References
www.airfieldsdatabase.com
External links
Airports in Inyo County, California
Buildings and structures in Death Valley National Park
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in California
Flight Strips of the United States Army Air Forces
World War II airfields in the United States
1942 establishments in California
Airports established in 1945
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