Kim Yorgason, age 10,of Ogden, Utah, for the question:

What makes Death Valley so hot?

Death Valley is a deep valley trough surrounded by high mountain walls. The floor of the valley is 282 feet below the level of the sea. The sun beats down on the ground without mercy and no cool winds come along to blow away the scorching air. Few rain clouds blow into the valley. The average rainfall is about tyro inches.

During the winter, the climate in the valley is mild even when the surrounding peaks are white with snow. The mountains keep out the cold winds, During the summer, the little valley is something like an oven. The sun beats down and the heat cannot escape. The temperature is often above 100 F, degrees and one July day in 1913, it climbed to 134 degrees.