From its headwaters in the Oasis Valley north of Beatty, Nevada, the Amargosa River flows in a southerly direction for 180 miles in the northern Mojave Desert. Near Dumont Dunes, it makes a U-turn and heads north into Death Valley National Park, finally terminating in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the United States.

The Amargosa is a river of groundwater. It flows mostly underground but surfaces in a few places: in Beatty and from Shoshone, California through Tecopa and into the Amargosa Canyon south of Tecopa, California. This section in California is designated as a Wild and Scenic River. During large rainstorms, the entire course of the river will flow above ground.

In one of the hottest and driest places anywhere, the river and associated springs provide islands of water that support a variety of plants and animals. Many of these organisms are unique to the area – or endemic – meaning they can’t be found anywhere else on earth.