After record rains, rowing lovers are flocking to Death Valley in California, United States, to enjoy 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 surreal expanse of parched salt flats that stretch as far as the eye can see.
But that day, what Donnelly saw as he approached took his breath away.
“I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible,’” said Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Death Valley is the place hottest and driest in North America and suddenly you have literally billions of liters of water. “It has been completely transformed.”
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.
Generally, it only rains an average of 5.08 cm per year. But in the last six months, the valley floor has received almost 12.7 cm.
According to the National Park Service, most of that rain came from two events: 2 inches on August 20 and another 1.5 inches during the “atmospheric rivers” that have recently drenched much of California.
Rain usually evaporates very quickly in Death Valley, but the billions of liters of water that Donnelly witnessed are now a lalmost 10 kilometers long by five wideknown as Lake Manly.
An impressive series of satellite images captured by NASAwhich contrast the desert basin before and after recent rains, show a mass of blue water surrounded by miles of arid, barren desert mountains and dunes.
With the constant rains drenching the area, the lake has grown to be 30 centimeters deep, meaning there is enough water to practice an activity that sounds curiously out of place in the famously parched landscape of Death Valley: kayak.
“The other day, as soon as we arrived, we turned around and went 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 130 km.
Once there, Donnelly bought an inflatable kayak and drove to the short-lived Manly Lake to spend the next few hours enjoying the rare kayaking opportunity that had just arisen in the middle of the desert.
“It was perfectly clear and still,” Donnelly said. “The sun was shining on the water. It was incredibly beautiful“.
The reappearance of the lake
The ancient lake of the Badwater Basin, located more than 85 meters below sea level, evaporated tens of thousands of years ago, long before thousands of gold seekers arrived in California in 1849.
Following the disappearance of the prehistoric lake, 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 a such a permanent body of water was about two decades agoaccording to Elyscia Letterman, a ranger with the National Park Service.
“We have photographs of the lake from 2004 or 2005, when we saw it in a similar way,” he explained.
But two decades is a long wait for the reappearance of an extinct lake in a scorched landscape, where temperatures are known to reach 49ºC in the shade.
Tourists have wasted no time and are making the most of this extraordinary event.
In addition to kayaking, visitors have set up beach chairs and children in swimsuits have been seen taking a dip in the new body of water.
Is it here to stay?
How long will all this water-related activity last in Death Valley? Unfortunately, the experience is expected to be short-lived.
“It’s evaporating quickly,” Letterman said. “We’re not sure how long it will stay, but it’s disappearing.”
The depth of the lake may only allow kayaking for a few more weeks, Letterman added.
But even after the lake becomes too shallow for kayaking, at least a small amount of water will likely remain in the basin, enough to continue offering photographers and visitors some very unique images at least until April.
“It’s very beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset, when you can see the beautiful reflections of the mountains that surround the lake,” Letterman explained.
“There is snow on the tops of the mountains. So the reflection of the snowy mountains in the water is very beautiful.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re in Death Valley.”he added.
As for Donnelly, whether it’s a few days or a few 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.”
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