Stovepipe Wells is a way-station in the northern part of
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer.
Death Valley's Badwat ...
, in
unincorporated Inyo County,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
Geography and names
Stovepipe Wells is located at and is US Geological Survey (USGS) feature ID 235564.
It is entirely inside
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern sect ...
and along
State Route 190 (SR 190) at less than above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. West on SR 190 is Towne Pass at about above sea level. Eventually, the road meets Panamint Valley Road at Panamint Junction in the
Panamint Valley. East on SR 190 the road leads to
Furnace Creek and
Death Valley Junction.
Variant names listed for the Inyo County location by USGS include Stove Pipe Wells Hotel and Stovepipe Wells Hotel. The US Postal Service ZIP Code is 92328, and the locale name is spelled ''Stove Pipe Wells'' in some postal renditions. It is commonly referred to as Stovepipe Wells Village.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Stovepipe Wells has a
hot desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
, abbreviated "BWh" on climate maps.
[Climate Summary for Stovepipe Wells, California](_blank)
/ref> Its average high temperature is greater than from June through September.[
]
History
The first temporary settlement at Stovepipe Wells came into being when a road between Rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...
and Skidoo was begun in 1906 to ameliorate the approach to the mine at Skidoo. A collection of tents was erected to serve travelers with food, drink and lodging. During the bonanza days of Rhyolite and Skidoo, it was the only known water source on the Cross-Valley road. When sand obscured the spot, a length of stovepipe was inserted as a marker; hence, its unique name.
In 1925, entrepreneur Bob Eichmann began construction of the hotel at Stovepipe Wells, along with a scenic toll road through Death Valley. This marked the beginning of the transition from mining community to tourist destination.
The settlement is now registered as California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
#826.
Facilities
Stovepipe Wells Village is home to the Stovepipe Wells Hotel, a full-service hotel with swimming pool. A general store offers sundries and food and is adjacent to a gas station. Stovepipe Wells Village also houses the Badwater Saloon and Toll Road restaurant, The Nugget Gift Shop and a ranger station.
The default format for wired telephone numbers in the community is in the Death Valley exchange: (760) 786-xxxx. The community had manual telephone service until the late 1980s.
The community is contained within the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District.
Nearby features
* Close to town are some fairly large and accessible stationary sand dunes on the floor of Death Valley. The dunes are roughly long in the east–west axis. They are located in the space between Salt Creek and Emigrant Wash.
* ''Stovepipe Well'', for which the community is named, is shown to the northeast at .
* ''Stovepipe Wells Airport'' is to the southwest at . The airport has an identifier of L09 and features a paved runway.
*''Stovepipe Wells Campground''
*''Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station''
*'' Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes''
*'' Mosaic Canyon''
*'' Tucki Mountain''
*''Grotto Canyon''
*''Devil's Corn Field ''
California Historical Landmarks
There are three California Historical Landmarks in Stovepipe Wells.
California Historical Landmark number 826, Old Stovepipe Wells, founded on August 7, 1968, reads:
:''NO. 826 OLD STOVEPIPE WELLS - This waterhole, the only one in the sand dune area of Death Valley, was at the junction of the two Indian trails. During the bonanza days of Rhyolite and Skidoo, it was the only known water source on the cross-valley road. When sand obscured the spot, a length of stovepipe was inserted as a marker.''
California Historical Landmark number 848, Eichbaum Toll Road, founded on May 19, 1971, reads:
:''NO. 848 EICHBAUM TOLL ROAD - In 1926, H. W. Eichbaum obtained a franchise for a toll road from Darwin Falls to Stovepipe Wells, the first maintained road into Death Valley from the west. It changed the area's economic base from mining to tourism and brought about the creation of Death Valley National Monument seven years later''
California Historical Landmark number 441, Burned Wagons Point, founded on October 24, 1949, reads:
:''NO. 441 BURNED WAGONS POINT - Near this monument, the Jayhawker group of Death Valley '49ers, gold seekers from the Middle West who entered Death Valley in 1849 seeking a short route to the mines of central California, burned their wagons, dried the meat of some oxen and, with surviving animals, struggled westward on foot.''californiahistoricallandmarks.com Landmarks chl-441
/ref>
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Gallery
Image:Stovepipe_Wells_downtown.jpg, Stovepipe Wells "downtown"
Image:Stovepipe_Wells_FD_truck.jpg, Stovepipe Wells Fire Dept truck
Image:Stovepipe_Wells_Burned_Wagons.jpg, Burned Wagons plaque, California Historical Landmark
Image:Stovepipe_Wells_saloon.jpg, Stovepipe Wells saloon at dusk
Image:Stovepipe_Wells_store.jpg, Stovepipe Wells general store at dusk
Image:Old stovepipe wells 01.jpg, California Historical Landmark Old Stovepipe Wells
Image:Eichbaum Toll Road Plaque.JPG, California Historical Landmark Eichbaum Toll Road Plaque
Image:2013-09-20 18 19 26 Sea Level sign in Stovepipe Wells.JPG, Sea Level sign in Stovepipe Wells
Image:Stovepipe Wells - Dunes at Sunrise (3811734775).jpg, Stovepipe Wells dunes at sunrise
See also
*California Historical Landmarks in Inyo County
This list includes properties and districts listed on the California Historical Landmark listing in Inyo County, California. Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view a Google map of all properties and districts with latitude an ...
* History of California through 1899
Sources
* ''7350.7U Location Identifiers'', The National Flight Data Center, Federal Aviation Administration ATPUBS, US Department of Transportation, September 1, 2005.
* Map: Stovepipe Wells, California 7.5-minute quadrangle, US Geological Survey, 1988.
* National Geographic Names Database, US Geological Survey, 1995.
* California Air Resources Board web site.
* Richard E. Lingenfelter. (1988) Death Valley and the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion: University of California Press. p. 290, p. 475.
External links
Stovepipe Wells Village web site
{{authority control
Death Valley
Death Valley National Park
Populated places in the Mojave Desert
Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in Inyo County, California
California Historical Landmarks