Death Valley Suite Death Valley Suite The Death Valley Suite is a short symphonic suite written by Ferde Grofé in 1949, depicting the westward travels of pioneers through the 'harsh lands' of Death Valley in California. Grofe was commissioned by the Death Valley 49ers, a non profit organization devoted to preserving pioneering and mining history of the Death Valley region (consisting of Death Valley National Park and surrounding area). The composition and music was part of a pageant celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 49ers who came by way of Death Valley in search of gold and other riches and celebration of the
Death Valley Moving masses of super-heated air blow through the valley creating extremely high temperatures. The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek, which is the highest atmospheric temperature ever recorded on earth. During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached or above. Some meteorologists dispute the accuracy of the 1913 temperature measurement. The highest surface temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was on July 15, 1972, at Furnace Creek, which is the highest ground surface temperature ever recorded on earth, as well as the only recorded surface