Patterns emerge from migrating and evaporating water on the valley floor near Badwater (lowest elevation in North America at 86 meters (282 ft) below sea level) as viewed from Dante's View (5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level). Average annual precipitation is 1.58 inches (40 mm). Death Valley National Monument Est. February 11, 1933; Death Valley National Park in 1994. 5,270 square miles (13,649 km2). Inyo County, CA.