Between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, when ice covered the Sierra Nevada, a lake 100 miles long and 600 feet deep sat in eastern California in what is now the Mojave Desert.
As the climate warmed and the ice retreated, the lake dried up, leaving a white salt pan in its place.
But a November of record rainfall has brought the ancient lake, known as Lake Manly, back to life. Now Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth and the lowest point in North America, has a desert lake framed by snow-capped mountains.
As far as lakes go, this one is pretty small and is likely to disappear soon.
But it’s a marvel to people who live in or visit Death Valley, and a reminder of the extreme weather that has been hitting the area more than 200 feet below sea level.
Climate change has been a growing concern. A few years ago, when temperatures approached the 130-degree mark, “heat tourists” flocked to the desert. Officials have expressed concern about how hotter conditions can affect the plants, birds and wildlife.
Then, there is the rain.
From September to November, the park received 2.41 inches of rain, with 1.76 inches of that total coming in November alone, the Park Service said. The previous wettest November on record was 1.70 inches, set in 1923.
The lake last made an appearance in 2023 after Hurricane Hilary, which degraded to a post-tropical low before reaching Southern California, dumped 2.2 inches of rain on the park and filled the basin.
Water levels receded until February 2024, when an atmospheric river dumped an additional 1.5 inches of rain onto the lake, making it deep enough that people could kayak on it. NASA researchers found that the temporary lake was about 3 feet to less than 1.5 feet deep over the course of about six weeks in February and March 2024.
The lake there today doesn’t really compare, locals say.
“It’s an attraction but it’s not really a lake,” said an employee at the Death Valley Inn, who asked to be identified only as Katt, when reached by phone Thursday. “It’s the size of a lake but it’s not deep. … It’s more like a very, very large riverbed without the flow — a wading pool maybe.”
Regardless of its size, the novelty of the lake is an attraction unto itself.
The inn has gotten more visitors since the rains, Katt said, because the hotel is only about seven miles from the park entrance and isn’t as expensive as the hotels inside its boundaries.
She said that business has increased 20% to 30% since the lake reappeared.
When the lake last emerged in 2023, the inn sold out for a few nights, she said. She has visited it herself recently and said the water went up to her knee in some spots.
The recent storms have also closed roads throughout the park, covering paved roads in debris and making them impassable, according to a National Park Service news release. Zabriskie Point, Dante’s View, Badwater Basin and Mesquite Sand Dunes remain accessible and open.
Visitors should proceed with caution if traveling on back-country roads and be prepared to self-rescue if necessary, officials said.
The lake is much smaller compared with previous years, and there’s no way to tell how long it will last, said Death Valley park ranger Nichole Andler.
She said that how long the lake is there depends on how much wind Death Valley gets, how warm it’ll be and if it rains again anytime soon. Visitors can expect to see the lake into the new year and maybe a little longer because temperatures have been cool.
“Some of the best views of the lake are from Dante’s View, and sunrise is a great time to see it,” Andler added.
Death Valley gets only about 2 inches of rain per year because of rain shadows from mountains. The towering Sierra Nevada range stops moisture from coming in from the Pacific, causing most rain to fall on the other side of the mountains.
Death Valley’s low elevation means that any rainfall that does arrive usually evaporates due to the heat.
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