In California's Death Valley, death is looking just a bit closer. Geologists have determined that the half-mile-wide Ubehebe Crater, formed by a prehistoric volcanic explosion, was created far more recently than previously thought—and that conditions for a sequel may exist today.

DENVER, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Xanterra Parks & Resorts completed the purchase of Windstar Cruises on Wednesday, May 25, after the sale of the assets of Ambassadors International, Inc. was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on May 19, 2011.

By Henry Brean By HENRY BREAN REVIEW-JOURNAL The National Park Service has closed one of Death Valley's most well-known abandoned mines because of mounting safety concerns.

By Jason Pesick Environmentalists are celebrating a lawsuit's dismissal, which they say will result in the protection of swaths of Death Valley National Park.

By Margo Bartlett Pesek One of scores of mining ghost towns and camps scattered across Nevada, Bonnie Clare sits within a stone's throw of the highway to Scotty's Castle. The old camp's rusted and weathered remains straggle down a slope below the stark outlines of a once-busy mill.