The lake that reappeared in Death Valley – 02/24/2024 – Environment

After record rains, rowing lovers gathered in Death Valley, California, in the United States, to take advantage of a unique opportunity.

On February 19, before dawn, Patrick Donnelly went to Badwater Basin in California’s Death Valley National Park to take some photos.

As the lowest point in North America, the basin is typically a huge, surreal expanse of dry salt flats.

But that day, what Donnelly saw as he approached took his breath away.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,'” said Donnelly, Great Basin director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

“Death Valley is the hottest, driest place in North America, and suddenly it now has literally billions of gallons of water. Everything has completely changed.”

The origins of the lake

Badwater Basin, located at the bottom of Death Valley, is the remnant of an ancient lake that existed tens of thousands of years ago.

Typically, it receives an average of just five centimeters of rain per year. But in the past six months, the valley floor has received nearly 5 inches.

According to the National Park Service, most of that rain came from two events: two inches on Aug. 20 and another 1.5 inches during the “flying rivers” that recently drenched much of California.

Rain usually evaporates very quickly in Death Valley, but the billions of liters of water that Donnelly witnessed now form a lake six miles long and three miles wide, known as Lake Manly.

A stunning series of satellite images captured by NASA, contrasting the desert basin before and after recent rains, shows a body of blue water surrounded by miles of barren, arid mountains and desert dunes.

With constant rain drenching the area, the lake has grown to a foot deep, meaning there is enough water for an activity that seems completely incompatible with Death Valley’s famously dry landscape: canoeing.

“The other day, as soon as we arrived, we turned around and headed back to town as quickly as we could to buy inflatable kayaks,” Donnelly said.

The drive from Badwater Basin to the nearest city, Pahrump, Nevada, is 80 miles.

There Donnelly bought an inflatable kayak and drove to Manly Lake to spend the next few hours taking advantage of the rare kayaking opportunity that had just arisen in the middle of the desert.

“It was perfectly clear and calm,” Donnelly said. “The sun was shining on the water. It was incredibly beautiful.”

Around the lake

The ancient Badwater Basin lake, located more than 85 meters below sea level, evaporated tens of thousands of years ago, long before gold seekers arrived in California in 1849.

After the prehistoric lake disappeared, the landscape accumulated sediment and concentrated salt deposits, giving rise to the basin’s unique pattern of geometric salt polygons.

The last time the basin was filled with water like this was about two decades ago, according to Elyscia Letterman, a ranger with the National Park Service.

“We have photographs of the lake from 2004 or 2005, when we saw it looking like this,” he explained.

But two decades is a long wait for an extinct lake to reappear in a devastated landscape, where temperatures are known to reach 49ºC in the shade.

Tourists wasted no time and are making the most of the extraordinary event.

In addition to canoeing, visitors set up beach chairs and children in swimsuits took a dip in the new lake.

Is it here to stay?

How long will all this water-related activity in Death Valley last? Unfortunately, the experience will likely be short.

“It’s evaporating quickly,” Letterman said. “We’re not sure how long it will last, but it is fading.”

The lake’s depth may only allow kayaking for a few more weeks, Letterman added.

“It’s really beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset when you see the beautiful reflections of the mountains that surround the lake,” Letterman explained.

“There is snow on the top of the mountains. The reflection of the snowy mountains in the water is very beautiful. It doesn’t even feel like you are in Death Valley.”

As for Donnelly, whether for a few days or weeks, he plans to make the most of the lake’s presence in Death Valley.

He plans to return there this week and also over the weekend.

“It’s something I want to experience as much as I can,” he said. After all, “it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Text originally published here.