Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest area in North America.Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 279 feet (85 m) below sea level. This point is 84.6 miles (136.2 km) east-southeast of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).