Several places in the southwestern United States have tried to lay claim to the title "the hottest place in America." But one truly stands out above the rest: Death Valley, California.

Death Valley is part of a National Park which covers more than three million acres along the California-Nevada border, an area about one and a half times the size of the state of Delaware. Tucked between 10000-foot peaks to the west and 5000-foot mountains to the east, Death Valley features the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere, about 280 feet below sea level. It was named in 1849 by survivors of an ill-fated group of lost miners who were looking for a shortcut to the California gold fields. Despite the name, the valley has plenty of life in it - for example, it's home to 30 species of reptiles, 260 kinds of birds, and 900 different plants, from cacti to wildflowers.

Though Death Valley National Park closes in the summer because it gets too hot, more than a million visitors passed through just last year. How hot can it get there? Tomorrow night: Death's Valley's meteorological claim to fame.