How a Lake Suddenly Appeared in Death Valley

Lakes have appeared in the driest place in North America, California's Death Valley, and while they are disappearing quickly, their formation is extremely rare.

In August, California was battered with rainfall as a result of Hurricane Hilary. Although the storm caused severe disruptions across the state, it also replenished the state's reservoirs, which had reached dangerously low levels in recent years because of the ongoing drought.

But this also created lakes and rivers in the last place you'd expect to see them. Death Valley usually sees only about 2 inches of rain every year, according to the National Park Service, and is the hottest place on Earth. It is also the driest place in the country.

But even Death Valley was not free of the flooding. The floods caused water to fill in Badwater Basin, and officials had to use a kayak to get across when the lake was freshly formed. This temporary lake is now disappearing, and only a little water remains. But it was originally so large it remained after the storm hit in August.

Lakes also popped up in areas of the Death Valley sand dunes.

"Lakes in the sand dunes wasn't on our 2023 bingo card," Death Valley National Park said in a Facebook post. "I mean, take a look at this picture of Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. THERE WAS WATER! Some spectacular things happened in Death Valley following the floods we received from remnants of Hurricane Hilary back in August. Ephemeral lakes popped up around the park, which is both pretty rare and amazing!"

Now that the lakes are disappearing, the park tells tourists they will probably be gone by the time they visit. However, some people may get lucky.

"It's an exciting time to visit the park," Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a previous statement. "How many people can say they've seen a lake in Death Valley? It's really beautiful."

Following the severe floods, the Death Valley park was closed to the public in August, so tourists are now heading there to see if they can catch a glimpse of the rare lakes. It was the longest time the park had been closed in its history. It reopened on October 15.

The lakes are not the only strange result of the stormy weather. Wildflowers have been observed blooming unusually late, NPR reported. Wildflowers bloom in parts of California in the spring but only when the state has received enough water. Buds lay dormant in the soil for most of the year, until the conditions were right for them to bloom.

These wildflowers are also a sight to behold, especially when many bloom at once.

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