Given its name during the 1849 gold rush by emigrants looking to cross it, Death Valley is located in the northern Mojave Desert of southern California. Famous for its brutal heat, on July 10, 1913, it became the location of the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States (and the second hottest ever recorded in the world) with a scalding temperature of 134°F (56.6°C). The valley usually receives less than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain each year. Ironically, during the late Pleistocene period, Death Valley was submerged beneath a prehistoric lake!