Death Valley Junction
Amargosa | |
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  Death Valley Junction Location in California | |
| Coordinates: 36°18′08″N 116°24′49″W / 36.30222°N 116.41361°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Inyo County |
| Elevation | 2,041 ft (622 m) |
| FIPS code | 06-18212 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1656477 |
Death Valley Junction Historic District | |
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| Location | CA 127 and CA 190, Death Valley Junction, California |
| Built | 1923 |
| Architect | Alexander H. McCulloch |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000802[2] |
| Added to NRHP | December 10, 1980 |
Death Valley Junction, more commonly known as Amargosa (Spanish for "Bitter"), is a tiny Mojave Desert unincorporated community in Inyo County, California, at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, in the Amargosa Valley and just east of Death Valley National Park. The zip code is 92328, the elevation is 2,041 ft (622 m), and the population is fewer than four people.
Death Valley Junction is home to the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel, where resident Marta Becket staged dance and mime shows from the late 1960s until her last show in February 2012.[3] Becket died in 2017.[4] The hotel is still operating next to the opera house, but beyond these maintained areas, the town is in a state of disrepair. There is no gas station, and only one restaurant, the Amargosa Cafe. The town is owned by the non-profit Amargosa Opera House Inc.[5] which runs the Opera House, Hotel, and cafe
The community's location, 27 miles (43 km) east-southeast of Furnace Creek,[6] on the east side of Death Valley is south of Nevada's Amargosa Valley and near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. East/South East, 27 miles, is Pahrump, Nevada. South on SR127 is the town of Shoshone, California. The closest straight-line distance to the Nevada state line is roughly five miles northeast.
Government documents show an effort by the Timbisha Shoshone tribal government to acquire about 7,200 acres (29 km2) in the area during 1999 to 2000. This includes areas for residences and the official federal sanction to use some government lands for traditional ceremonies. In 2017 the tribe constructed a cannabis grow facility on the land.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Death Valley Junction, California
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Charlene Dean (February 10, 2012). "Soiree Planned for Becket's Final Stage Performance". Pahrump Valley Times. Pahrump Valley Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (February 3, 2017). "Marta Becket, Dancer Who Built a Theater in the Desert, Dies at 92". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Amargosa Opera House Inc - GuideStar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1159. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.