Death Valley was inhabited by Native Americans of the Timbisha Indian tribe, formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone, who had lived in the valley for more than a thousand years. When a huge stream of farmers, miners, and settlers came to Death Valley in the 1860s and 18880s and annexed water sources and fertile plots of land belonging to the Shoshones, the indigenous people were pushed onto inferior land.
Today, the former Indian lands include Furnace Creek Inn and surrounding areas. Located 58 meters below sea level, the ranch is a tourist center and home to the Death Valley National Park Authority, as well as a museum. Furnace Creek encompasses an area of nearly 82 square kilometers, and springs in the mountains of the Amargosa Range have formed a natural oasis here. It was here that the highest temperature in North American history was observed, reaching 56,7 degrees Celsius on 10th July 1913. The Timbisha Tribe, which was one of the first to gain tribal status in 1982, still lives in Death Valley on an Indian reservation.
As a federally recognized group of California residents, the Timbisha make up the majority of Furnace Creek’s permanent population as an Indian community in Death Valley.
