Death Valley that can be made from a type of clay found in the valley. Some families still live in the valley at Furnace Creek. Another village was in Grapevine Canyon near the present site of Scotty's Castle. It was called in the Timbisha language "maahunu", whose meaning is uncertain, although it is known that "hunu" means "canyon". The valley received its English name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush. It was called Death Valley by prospectors and others who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields, after 13 pioneers perished from one early expedition of
Death Valley Days on the Grit network in the United States. Two episodes of "Death Valley Days" are shown weekdays beginning at 6:35 p.m. Eastern on the Encore Westerns Channel. In the 1955–1956 season, NBC offered "Frontier", an anthology Western series similar to "Death Valley Days" hosted by Walter Coy. Though "Frontier", a springboard for the Western actor Jack Elam, was nominated for an Emmy Award, it was cancelled after a single season. Death Valley Days Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930