Death Valley National Park enters 'water era' with kayaking on limited-time lake
Lake Manly formed in Badwater Basin after 2.2 inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in August 2023 and when the park received 1.5 inches of rainfall in February during a parade of atmospheric rivers.
Rare lake returns to driest place in North America
"The "Hottest Place on Earth" is now home to a rare lake at Death Valley National Park after multiple major rain events slammed the state. Now, kayakers are enjoying themselves and taking advantage of the scenery in what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Great Basin Director Patrick Donnelly, who is also associated with the Center for Biological Diversity, is one of those kayakers.
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – For a limited time, visitors to Death Valley National Park can paddle out on a temporary lake after rounds of flooding rain from atmospheric rivers repeatedly slammed into California and leftover rains from Hurricane Hilary.
The National Park Service said park visitors have a rare opportunity to enjoy some water activities in the driest place in the U.S. after enough rainwater created what rangers are calling Lake Manly in the Badwater Basin.
"You might think with no drain to the sea, that Death Valley would always have a lake," park ranger Abby Wines said. "But this is an extremely rare event. Normally, the amount of water flowing in is much less than the evaporation rate."
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Atmospheric rivers bring lake to Death Valley National Park
Abby Wines, park ranger with Death Valley National Park, explains how a temporary lake was able to form in California's Death Valley National Park. The lake is deep enough that some people have kayaked on it. Feb. 21, 2024.
Rangers said the normally dry salt flat has water about 3 miles wide and one foot deep, just enough for a kayak. However, rangers say the water will only be deep enough to paddle for a few weeks, but it will make for a beautiful sight through April.
"We are fully embracing our water era," the park wrote on Facebook, in a quip to Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
Kayaking at Badwater Basin on February 9, 2024. (Photo: NPS/Michael Kohler)
(NPS)
How a lake formed in the driest place in the U.S.
Over the past six months, Death Valley has received nearly 5 inches of rain – more than double the amount of rain it typically sees in a year.
Most of the water was leftover from the 2.2 inches from the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in August 2023. The storm caused parts of the park to flood, leading to road closures. Then, between February 4 and 7 this year, the park received 1.5 inches of rainfall during a parade of atmospheric rivers.
A series of NASA satellite images show Lake Manly in the Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park. (Images: NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.)
Now that the park roads are back open, visitors can enjoy this lake while it lasts.
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK STARTS REOPENING AFTER HILARY FLOOD DESTROYED ROADS
Several NASA satellites captured the changes to the Badwater Basin since last summer. According to NASA, the satellite images below show the desert basin before the flooding in July 2023, August 2023 after Hilary and then in February with the most recent flooding rains.
Rangers initially thought the August rains from Hilary would be gone by October. However, after six months, Lake Manly is still there.
Kayakers take advantage of temporary Death Valley lake
A temporary lake provided a rare opportunity for kayakers to paddle in the driest part of the U.S., California’s Death Valley National Park.