Ancient lake that reemerged at Death Valley National Park is here to stay -- for now, rangers say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

February 19, 2024, 2:47 PM


An ancient lake that reemerged at Death Valley National Park last year will stick around for longer than initially expected now that several rounds of extreme rain have poured through Southern California, according to officials.

Death Valley's famed Badwater Basin began filling up with water in August due to heavy precipitation from Hurricane Hilary, which prompted the first tropical storm watch in California state history, Abby Wines, park ranger at Death Valley National Park, told ABC News last month.

During that event, more than 2 inches of water fell on Aug. 20 -- the amount the region typically sees in a year.
Park rangers initially estimated that the water filling up several inches in the basin where the Ice Age-era Lake Manly once stood would only last until February. But storm systems fueled with potent atmospheric rivers in recent weeks has expanded the lake once again, satellite images released by NASA show.

Much of the precipitation occurred between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7, when 1.5 inches of water fell in the park, according to a statement released by the National Park Service on Friday. The series of satellite images shows how the lake expanded from virtually no water on July 5 to being filled with water from August through February.


Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/ancient-lake-reemerged-death-valley-national-park-stay/story?id=107347931

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This series of images compares the desert basin before flooding (left) with its more-waterlogged state following each major storm. In both August 2023 (middle) and February 2024 (right), a shallow lake several kilometers across fills in the low-lying salt flat.
NASA Earth Observatory

[DBoon]

1. happens every so often

The amazing Huell Howser documented this maybe 15 years ago:

[Nittersing]

4. Great video!

It didn't really occur to me that there was rushing water... my brain just sort of assumed it filled up like a bath tub.

Now *that* would be some spectacular video.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Neat, although I hope no one's homes are water-logged. Would be interesting to see if any critters, insects,

etc. that formerly relied on this former lake would reappear again? Would be an interesting PBS show too see. I am aware of shows on Death Valley and it's lack of rain etc., this is a totally different scenario, would be interesting to see the reverse impacts.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. Wish the article had more detail ...

Is the water salty? Borax (sodium borate)? Any flora or fauna, micro or macro, suddenly appear with the water?

[BumRushDaShow]

5. The NPS has some info on the area

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/lake-manly.htm

NPS general Death Valley page (can dig through there for different topics) - https://www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm

This guy's video was interesting -

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. Thanks!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. Found something...

Lake Manly, a saltwater lake, is currently one of the most distinctive geological features of Death Valley National Park. Last appearing in 2005 and now back after historic rainfall in the fall of 2023, it is situated at the lowest point of the park and is a remnant of a vast ancient lake that once existed in the area. Despite its unusual brackish waters, which are four times saltier than the ocean, Lake Manly is home to a variety of unique species that have adapted to its harsh environment, such as the pupfish, a small fish found only in a few locations in the American West.

https://www.oasisatdeathvalley.com/connect/stories/lake-manly-in-death-valley-national-park-a-rare-sight-to-behold/

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I saw that site too

although I think it is also a tourist-focused site but had briefly considered adding it to the links I had above...

[Aussie105]

6. Possibly . . .

The article is based on satellite imagery only.

The information you seek needs someone to go to the actual place for testing the water, check for flora/fauna, etc.

[eggplant]

14. The caption in the image reads...

...a shallow lake several kilometers across fills in the low-lying salt flat.

So I'm going to go out on a limb and say "salty".

[Hermit-The-Prog]

17. There are many different kinds of "salt", but, yes NPS says it's mostly sodium chloride

Salt of the Earth
Sodium Chloride—better known as table salt—makes up the majority of salts on Badwater Basin. Other evaporative minerals found here include calcite, gypsum, and borax.

Intense Concentration

The source of Badwater’s salts is Death Valley’s drainage system of 9,000 square miles—an area larger than New Hampshire. Rain falling on distant peaks creates floods that rush ever lower. Along the way, minerals dissolve from rocks and join the flood. Here, at the lowest elevation, floods come to rest, forming temporary lakes. As the water evaporates, minerals concentrate until only the salts remain. After thousands of years, enough salts have washed in to produce layer upon layer of salt crust.

Crystal Power
The vast, surreal salt flats of Badwater Basin change constantly. Salt crystals expand, pushing the crust of salt into rough, chaotic forms. Newly formed crystals ooze between mudcracks, sketching strange patterns on the surface of the salt flat. Passing rainstorms wash off windblown dust and generate a fresh layer of blinding white salt.
Floods create temporary lakes that dissolve salts back into solution, starting the process all over again.

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/salt-flats.htm

More:

Intense Concentration
The source of Badwater's salts is Death Valley's drainage system of over 9,000 square miles--an area larger than New Hampshire. Rain fallling on distant peaks creates floods that rush ever lower. Along the way, minerals dissolve from rocks and join the flood. Here, at the lowest elevation, floods come to rest, forming temporary lakes. As the water evaporates, minerals concentrate until only the salts remain. After thousands of years, enough salts have washed in to produce layer upon layer of salt crust.

Sodium Chloride--better known as table salt--makes up the majority of salts on Badwater Basin. Other evaporative minerals found here include calcite, gypsum, and borax. Bad Water Water is rare and precious in Death Valley. A surveyor could not get his mule to drink from the pool. He wrote on his map that the location had "bad water," and the name stuck.

Badwater Pool is not poisonous just salty, as the presence of pickleweed, aquatic insects, and larvae proves. It is also home to one of Death Valley's rarest animals-- the Badwater Snail. These tiny mollusks exist only in a few springs at the edge of Death Valley salt flats.

http://digital-desert.com/death-valley-geology/badwater/

[Tom Kitten]

9. Neat-o!

Now I want to go, was planning a trip up 395 so...

Now I wonder how the Salton Sea has been affected. Now that's a place that could really use water, and a lot of it.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

11. My friends drove out there to photograph it.

The photos were amazing.

[Duppers]

12. Would they allow you to post a few?

[Grumpy Old Guy]

13. I'm sure they would.

I'll ask.

[Crowman2009]

15. I guess this is that ancient lake that Jim Morrison was singing about.

Now where is this snake we have to ride on in order to get to it?

[Old Crank]

16. Also with last years rains Tulare Lake in CA reformed

It used to be quite large then it almost disapeared. I haven't heard how the latest crop of storms has done this year. But last year losts of land went underwater.

[ruet]

18. Painful Reading.

Death Valley's famed Badwater Basin began filling up with water in August due to heavy precipitation from Hurricane Hilary, which prompted the first tropical storm watch in California state history, Abby Wines, park ranger at Death Valley National Park, told ABC News last month.

Does anyone employ and use editors these days?