California’s Death Valley – the hottest place in the world and the driest in North America’ now looks like an OASIS after the salt flat turns into a lake two months after Hurricane Hilary’s epic rains
Nature has given California’s infamous Death Valley a radical makeover after an unprecedented day of rain turned America’s driest place into a breathtaking oasis.
The spectacular national park was closed to visitors in August when Hurricane Hilary dumped a year’s worth of rain on the parched landscape, destroying roads and turning parched gullies into raging torrents.
Two months later, that 2.5 inches of rain has transformed the deadly landscape into an unrecognizable water world with wading birds foraging on tranquil lakes.
“While this number may seem low to some of you, it was a lot to us,” a National Parks spokesperson said in a social media post as Death Valley reopened this week after the longest closure in its history.
‘It was actually our rainiest day ever.’
The arid salt flats of the Badwater Basin are now covered by a lake covering several square miles
Kayaks are needed to traverse the previously extinct Lake Manly, which has come back to life
“In fact, it was our rainiest day ever,” Death Valley officials said of the storm’s impact
‘This rain has an even greater impact because the soil here does not absorb water the way a grassy garden might.
‘Where rich soils tend to soak up water from even heavy rainfall, Death Valley’s rocky soils and steep mountains shed water and send it downhill. Fast.’
Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 250 feet below sea level and is now home to a several-square-mile lake, nearly two months after the storm that drenched California.
There are wildflowers in the park where a record temperature of 134 degrees was recorded in July 1913 and where temperatures have topped 130 degrees in each of the past two summers.
“The clear, dry air and sparse plant cover allow sunlight to warm the desert surface,” a park service spokesperson explained.
‘Heat radiates back from the rocks and then becomes trapped in the depths of the valley. “These moving masses of superheated air blow through the valley, creating extremely high temperatures.”
Satellite images capture the extent of the sky-blue lake that now fills the Badwater Basin
The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes now also house a shallow lake in the driest place in America
Park staff were thrilled with the appearance of their new wetland environment
A Mojave Desert Tortoise taking a stroll in its unexpectedly lush environment
Hundreds of ponds and pools formed in the immediate aftermath of the devastating storm
There is usually little to see other than salt in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America
But some aquatic animals, including this Pupfish, are able to eke out a precarious existence in the park’s few isolated moist spots.
Hilary caused devastation for many in the state as it carved a path north from Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years left 25 million people in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah under flood warnings, with peak winds of 140 mph and up to 10 inches of rain.
The park was already hit by another storm in 2022 and work to restore the damaged infrastructure is expected to take months.
Water has also collected in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, but cracks in the mud are now the only remaining evidence of hundreds of ponds and lakes that formed in the days immediately following the storm.
Two months later, the valley’s landscape remains transformed by the storm
The park was closed for two months after Hilary struck in August when repairs began
Arid gullies turned into raging torrents as the water rushed down the steep slopes
Roads were destroyed by the unprecedented rainfall that poured through the park
Tourist attractions were wiped out by the heaviest single-day rainfall in the park’s history
The work to repair the damaged infrastructure is expected to take several months
Salt formations show the beauty of the deserted place, regardless of the weather
“Occasionally there are events large enough to break weather records and cause significant damage to historic sites and park infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.
‘Ephemeral lakes formed around the park, which is both quite rare and amazing.
‘Lakes in the sand dunes were not on our 2023 bingo card.’
‘The natural forces that shaped this landscape still play a role.’