The Amargosa Valley spans 45 miles north to south and about 12 miles east to west, sandwiched between US 95 on the north and east and the California state line on the west and south. The valley was named for its namesake Amargosa River, which runs underground the length of the valley. History is sketchy regarding when the first humans settled in the the valley; ancient campsites have been found that date back at least 10,000 years to the end of the last ice age. During the nineteenth century, two groups of Native Americans occupied the Amargosa Valley -- the Southern Paiute and the Western Shoshone. Both were extremely adept at extracting a living from this very barren landscape subsisting on wild plant foods and supplemented by wild game. Much later, the valley became a part of a popular route for wagon trains en route to Death Valley around 1850.

It's important to know that there is no distinct town named "Amargosa Valley." The name is used locally with reference to the population residing in the the actual geographic valley and for the most part, it is coincident with the Amargosa Desert and is noted as such on many maps. The populated area of the Amargosa Valley centers around three areas -- the town of Beatty, the western residential edge of the valley, and the extreme southern end near Ash Meadows Nat'l Wildlife Refuge and the Longstreet Casino. Some of the community's residential streets, and parts of the valley itself, cross over into California on the west. A portion of the northwestern edge of the valley even enters the boundary of Death Valley National Park. Two north-south routes, US 95 and State Route 373, and two east-west trending routes, State Route 374 and Amargosa Farm Road, serve residents of Amargosa Valley.

Most of the "action" found in Amargosa Valley takes place in the far southern portion of the valley notably around Lathrop Wells. Big Dune, a formation of sand dunes administered by the BLM, crests 300 feet above the surrounding terrain of the valley. Big Dune is accessible from Valley View Road, 2.5 miles south of US 95 from SR 373. Look for signage from the highway. The Longstreet Hotel-Casino at the Nevada-California border offers typical full-service Nevada-style gaming, restaurants, and an RV park. This border-casino is popular with visitors to nearby Death Valley National Park and the Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge. Other than that, Amargosa Valley is almost all residential and most services (including gas) are located in Beatty, approximately 30 miles to the northwest along US 95.