Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Furnace Creek, the tourism hub of this magnificent national park was originally a mining settlement known as Greenland Ranch. Natural springs feed the many creeks that seep and flow through the park and it is this perennial water source that allowed for large alfalfa fields to grow here in the late 1800s – hence its original name of Greenland Ranch. The spot holds the distinction of having the highest ever recorded temperature on earth. On the afternoon of July 10, 1913, the ambient air temperature was recorded at a blistering 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit.
The park service and its concessionaires maintain a beautiful and sprawling complex of hotels, golf course, campgrounds, visitor center, shops, swimming pool, playgrounds, and a single-runway, civil aviation airport.