5. Death
Valley, USA -- 134 degrees
A desert basin in the U.S. state of
California, Death Valley is a national park with topography ranging from snowy
mountain peaks to a salt pan that stretches for 200 square miles. In July,
Death Valley's hottest month, the average temperatures is 115 degrees
Fahrenheit, but the heat index regularly reaches 125.
It's the hottest, lowest
place in the United States, making it void of life except for tourists and
employees of the National Park Service.
Pictured above are sand dunes near the village of Stovepipe Wells, a way-station in the northern part of the valley.
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
