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Glite Dictionary
Death Valley

Death Valley

1 3.2
A very hot desert valley in eastern California and southwestern Nevada that has North America's lowest point
  • proper noun
  • /dɛθ ˈvæli/
translation icon : Valle de la Muerte
  • California's Death Valley

Examples

  • Well, sitting around on the floor is the 20 mules from the Death Valley Days.

    One Week (2000)

  • In July, temperatures in Death Valley can exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit, making it one of the hottest places in the world.

  • Visitors to Death Valley often marvel at the unique geological formations created by years of erosion.

  • The lowest point in North America is located in Death Valley, which is famous for its extreme heat and arid landscape.

Surface Forms

Death Valley main

Morphology

Death + valley

The phrase is partly compositional: 'valley' clearly indicates a geographic depression and 'Death' signals extreme danger or harshness, so a B1 learner who knows both words would infer it refers to a particularly deadly or inhospitable valley. However, as a fixed proper name for a specific geographic region with particular facts (hottest place, lowest point) the full referent and precise meaning are not derivable from the constituents alone, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Death Valley may come from one popular story about 1849 gold-seekers who got lost there and had very little water. Because so many people were near death in that dry valley, the name stuck and today it shows the place can be 'dangerous' and very hot.