At 134 feet, the "World's Tallest Thermometer" is easily visible from Interstate 15 in Baker, California. An appropriate landmark for the town that calls itself "The Gateway to Death Valley," the thermometer regularly records temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. In fact, its height recalls the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States: 134 degrees in Death Valley in 1913. Erected by a Baker businessman in 1991, the thermometer is right next to the Bun Boy restaurant and the visitors center for the Mojave National Preserve.

For a good article on the thermometer that originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

Photographed by Gerald Thurman in March, 2002
Posted on RoadTrip America 9/05