What Is the Hottest City in California? 2023 Update
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The hottest city in California is Furnace Creek. Furnace Creek is located in Death Valley, a place so hot that it is consistently ranked as the hottest place in the world, not just the hottest place in California. The hottest day on record actually happened in Furnace Creek in 1913, with temperatures reaching 134°F.
Needless to say, Furnace Creek has definitely earned its name. Keep reading to learn more about this sweltering town.
Furnace Creek: The Hottest City in California
Furnace Creek1 is located in Inyo County, California. It is very close to Las Vegas, making it right on the border between California and Nevada. This town is right next to Death Valley. It is even the location of the visitor’s center, headquarters, and museum of Death Valley National Park. The city itself only covers about 31.5 square miles and is home to only about 136 people as of 2020.
The main reason why so few people live in Furnace Creek is because of its insane temperatures. The city also has the highest natural ground surface temperature on earth at 201°F, which was recorded on July 15, 1972.
How Hot Is Furnace Creek?
Obviously, the hottest day in Furnace Creek happened in 1913, when the temperatures reached 134°F. This temperature is incredibly hot, but it is not the average temperature.
Between 1911 and 2006, the average high temperature of Furnace Creek was 91.4°F . The average low temperature was 62.9°F. July tends to be the hottest month, with the average daily temperature being 116.5°F. June is also really hot with incredibly low precipitation. June typically only sees 0.05 inches of rain every year.
In other words, Furnace Creek isn’t a place where you go to cool down. It is consistently over 100°F throughout the year, and it doesn’t see much rain either. Together, this makes Furnace Creek a lethal location in terms of temperature and water.
Why Is Furnace Creek So Hot?
After learning about how hot Furnace Creek is, the next question you may be wondering about is why it got this way. Why are Furnace Creek and Death Valley so hot? The answer lies in the shape of the area and its location.
For starters, Furnace Creek is in Death Valley. This valley is very long and 282 feet below sea level. It is also located right in the desert and surrounded by mountains. The mixture of this low elevation and the mountains surrounding it means that the air gets heated by the elevation, and rain rarely makes it over the mountains.
Together, this results in an incredibly hot and dry environment that most living things cannot survive in.
Fun Facts About Furnace Creek
Here are a few fun facts that you might not know about this unbearably hot town.
- It didn’t rain at all between 1929 and 1953.
- In 1917, there were over 40 consecutive days in the Death Valley area where the high temperature was above 120°F.
- On January 8th, 1913, the temperature dropped to 15°F in Furnace Creek.
- The Furnace Creek resort is home to natural hot springs.
- Despite getting such little rain, flash floods have been reported in the Bridge and Canyon areas.
- You can actually see fossils in the embedded rocks of Furnace Creek and the surrounding Death Valley area.
- It’s believed that Death Valley has been inhabited by people for over 10,000 years.
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt about it—the hottest city in California is Furnace Creek. Furnace Creek is so hot that it holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet. This is due to its location in Death Valley. Furnace Creek isn’t just the hottest city in California. It’s actually one of the hottest cities in the world.
Because of how hot it is, not many people live in Furnace Creek. Even so, Furnace Creek and Death Valley are places you definitely need to visit once in your life. These sites are absolutely breathtaking and there are plenty of fun things to do while you explore the great outdoors. Just make sure to bring a whole lot of water and sunscreen!
Featured Image Credit: ArtTower, Pixabay
