The length of a canal from the Pacific to Death Valley would be about 200 miles, similar to the Turkish Straits -from the southern end of the Dardanelles to the northern end of the Bosporus. The Black Sea is 56.2 times larger (168,500 sq mi) and 25.7 times deeper (7,257 ft) than Death Valley; due to river water it receives from large Eurasian fluvial systems, including the Don, the Dnieper and the Danube, the Black Sea’s water balance is positive (more water flows from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean than the other way around), cooler, less saline and less dense than the Sea of Marmara. These differences generate a deep anoxic flow with a volume equivalent to the sixth largest river on Earth if it were on land. The minimum width of the Bosporus is approximately 765 yards (2,295 ft); its average depth, 213 feet.

There are no fluvial systems flowing into Death Valley, therefore its water balance would be negative and flow in only one direction –from the Pacific. Accordingly, the canal’s capacity would have to be large enough to instantly replenish the water that the system would constantly lose due to evaporation, distribution, desalinization and electrolysis.

The magnitude of this enterprise due to the mountainous terrain would dwarf the Panama and Suez canals combined, however it should be noted that both were built long ago with obsolete equipment and technology to accommodate much smaller ships. With today’s equipment, it would still be enormously difficult and expensive, however the alternative of not doing anything is much worse. Not only would that eliminate the need for pipelines, inland ports could be built to export the hydrogen and other products.