Death Valley National Park is defined by scale—of elevation change, temperature extremes, and open space. Our visit focused on some of the park’s most geologically distinct areas, combining paved viewpoints with backcountry driving to better understand the range of landscapes contained within its boundaries. We began at Dante’s Point, a high overlook on the crest of the Black Mountains at over 5,000 feet above sea level. From this vantage, the full vertical relief of Death Valley becomes clear: Badwater Basin lies more than 280 feet below sea level, while Telescope Peak rises over 11,000 feet across the valley in the Panamint Range. The perspective from Dante’s Point provides a useful orientation to the park’s basin-and-range geology, where tectonic stretching has created alternating mountain ranges and deep valleys. One of the most memorable segments of the trip was off-roading to Racetrack Playa. The long, rough road requires high clearance and careful driving, but the payo...