Stunning satellite images show a rare lake in Death Valley National Park. Take a look
It’s not a mirage — photos from space show the temporary lake that’s formed in the middle of the desert in Death Valley National Park.
Satellite images from NASA show how the lake in the California park’s Badwater Basin formed and then endured for months amid above-average rainfall in the lowest and driest spot in North America.
The park usually experiences about 2 inches of rainfall each year, but almost 5 inches have fallen on the valley floor in the past six months, McClatchy News previously reported.
Most of it fell during two major events: 2.2 inches after Hurricane Hilary in August and an additional 1.5 inches during the atmospheric river from Feb. 4-7, McClatchy News reported.
“This series of images compares the desert basin before flooding (left) with its more-waterlogged state following each major storm,” NASA said in a news release.
The images show how the lake bloomed across the low-lying salt flat on Aug. 30. It dwindled during the fall and winter but fully refilled by Feb. 14.
“Most of us thought the lake would be gone by October,” park ranger Abby Wines said in a Feb. 8 news release. “We were shocked to see it still here after almost six months.”
The lake is about 6 miles long, 3 miles across and is deep enough to kayak on, McClatchy News reported.
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