Despite Death Valley National Park in California holding the record for being the hottest place on earth at 134F, it also has an ancient lake named Lake Manly that appears rarely after excessive and prolonged rainfall.
The rains caused by 2023’s El Nino event formed the lake last year. The continuation of El Nino rains into 2024 have enabled it to remain and grow, a very rare phenomona. Usually rainfall evaporates in the dessicated desert long before it has a chance to collect.
Here is the lake in March of 2024, with snowy summits,
and salty shores.
Rain is continuing to fall in the desert which is remarkable.
The lake is much, much larger than I expected, approximately 6 miles long and 3 miles wide in places.
Lake Manly is a remnant of an ancient ocean,
and is four x’s saltier than seawater.
It lies in Badwater Basin,
the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.
Maybe the lake will last until next year which would truly be extraordinary.
We are here at Death Valley National Park because the snow and precipitation in California for the past two years has been unprecedented and we wanted to see the wildflower super bloom in the hottest place on earth. We also wanted to see Lake Manly, the ancient lake in Death Valley that only rarely fills during strong El Nino events. We are seeing both of these amazing wonders, but before I show you, we have to acknowledge and thank, ‘The Official Death Valley Greeting Committe.’ (Members are wild and all volunteer, I should add!)
Here is one wild burro diligently performing her greeting duties. No food was exchanged in any of these interactions. Pats and pets, yes, but not by me.
The wild burros are just very friendly critters. I try to keep safe distance from wild creatures, no matter how friendly, which was hard because they kept coming towards me for a pat.
Last time we were here we searched forever to find the wild burros and almost gave up, until we finally found them. I had never seen them before. Here is the post I did about them:
This time, they seemed to be waiting by the roadside to say, “Hello!”
Wild burros,
are winsome creatures.
Playful and affectionate with each other,
and welcoming to humans,
who are respectful towards them.
Cheers to you from Death Valley’s beautiful wild burros~