A brutal heat wave, coupled with a long-running drought, has many national parks in the Western half of the country enduring broiling temperatures and increased fire danger. Temperatures Wednesday at Death Valley National Park could reach 128 degrees at Furnace Creek, the National Park Service said, while fire danger at Grand Teton National Park inched up to "high."

A pot farm roughly 40 acres in size, tended to by growers who have threatened hikers, has been discovered in a remote corner of Death Valley National Park by rangers.

Spring has sprung, so this quiz and trivia piece is about spring wildflowers you’ll see in the national parks. Dust out those mental cobwebs and test your knowledge while maybe learning something new in the process.

Though birds presumably could fly to cooler temperatures as the climate heats up, studies show that burrowing animals in places such as Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve in California are better able to endure higher temperatures than their feathered counterparts.