Part of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A. 

Because it lacks water, this makes the area known as Death Valley a desert, but it is by no means devoid of life.

1.   Because it lacks water, this
2.   They lack water, which
3.   Water, the lack of which
4.   Lacking water, it
5.   Lack of water