2024 file photograph: Tourists enjoy the rare opportunity to walk in water as they visit Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, California on February 19, 2024. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
After record-breaking rain in Death Valley, a shallow lake has formed at Badwater Basin, the national park said.
The phenomenon known as Lake Manly is far smaller than it was last year, when it was about a foot deep over 18 square miles. The current one covers much less area and barely rises above shoe tops, the park said.
Last month was Death Valley’s wettest November on record, with 1.76 inches of rain, a Dec. 4 park press release said. The previous mark, in 1923, was 1.7.
The park also recorded the greatest rainfall for the September-November period, 2.41 inches, which is more than the yearly average.
The previous appearance of the lake occurred amid a six-month period that saw almost 5 inches of rain. It formed in August 2023 when the remnants of Hurricane Hilary deluged the park, but it was off-limits to visitors then because of road damage. It shrank over the fall, and then was topped up by heavy rains in early 2024.
Before that, Manly had not formed since 2005.
The current Lake Manly is about a mile hike from the Badwater parking lot. At 282 feet below sea level, the basin is the lowest point in North America.
The park is advising visitors of road closures caused by the recent heavy rains. In addition to making some unpaved roads impassable, the storms left several paved roads blocked by debris. Updates can be found at the park’s website.
Originally published at Bay Area News Group