Hottest place on Earth called Death Valley now has a lake - baffling locals

11 February 2024 , 21:39

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Death Valley now has a lake (Image: Giovanna Ponce/NPS)

A lake has formed in an area of the US considered one of the driest places on earth seven months after it was battered by storms. Death Valley National Park, California, holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on July 10, 1913, according to the World Meteorological Organization, at 134 degrees.

However, despite being the driest place in North America, a lake which formed after Hurricane Hilary in August 2023 has yet to fully dry up. Death Valley typically receives about 2 inches of rain per year, however, the official weather gauge at Furnace Creek has measured 4.9 inches in the past six months. On August 20 last year, over a years worth of rain fell in one day with 2.2 inches being measured.

The lake formed at Badwater Basin in August, on what normally is a salt flat park officials said. Alongside this, rainfall over the last weeks means that the lake will be around longer than it would otherwise exist, the park said in a statement Thursday.

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At it's largest, the lake was 7 miles long, 4 miles wide and 2 feet deep, the National Park Service said. At the end of January it was around half that and just a few inches deep.

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“Most of us thought the lake would be gone by October,” said park ranger Abby Wines. “We were shocked to see it still here after almost six months. This week’s rain will extend how long the lake is here. It’s too shallow to kayak in, but it makes amazing reflections of the mountains.”

The remnants of the temporary lake in the background (Giovanna Ponce/NPS)

The temporary lake at Badwater Basin is rare, according to the park service but the basin is actually a former inland lake, called Lake Manly, which has long since dried up. It existed in two past periods, and most recently dried around 10,000 years ago, according to the park.

While Death Valley is known as the location of the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, and scorching temperatures during summer even when there’s not a record, highs this week have been around the 50s to 60s. Summer temperatures often top 120°F (49°C) in the shade with overnight lows dipping into the 90s°F (mid-30s°C).

Death Valley is one of the driest places on the planet (Getty Images)

The area is so dry that no rain at all was recorded in the years of 1929 and 1953. The driest stretch on record was only 0.64 inches (1.6cm) of rain over a 40-month period in 1931 to 1934.#

Hurricane Hilary was the first tropical storm to enter California since storm Nora in 1997. The hurricane saw about 26 million people across four states (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah), placed under flood warnings. Death Valley is still recovering from the damage done by Hurricane Hilary but park officials say most roads have now re-opened.

Ffion Lewis