After the 2023 Floods

A scenic two hour drive from the bustling streets of Las Vegas takes you to this expansive desert area. The place is called Death Valley and is the nation’s largest national park.

I’ve visited Death Valley many times before. On this trip I spent only a few hours there specifically to catch a glimpse of something special as you’ll soon find out.

My first stop was at Zabriskie Point

…especially noted for its alluvial runoffs.

 

They date back millions of years

…and form some amazing landscapes.

 

Twenty miles down the road is Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. It sits some 280 feet below sea level.

Badwater is a salt flat that spans the width of the valley. It’s basically a dried sea bed from millions of years ago.

 

Here’s a closeup of the terrain at Badwater. Normally the entire basin is covered with salt similar to this. You can walk on some of the terrain but other parts are thin and considered dangerous to traverse.

Something drastic happened this past August. Unprecedented torrential rains caused extreme road and terrain damage. The basin was in part turned into “Lake Manly”. While only a few inches deep in remains there as of January 2024.

As you can see here, many visitors trekked to Death Valley to view the lake in the Badwater basin

As I was driving I couldn’t help but spot large patches of yellow off to the side of the road.

While these flowers are not one of Death Valley’s infrequent superblooms, these patches may be a byproduct of last August’s downpours and flooding. Regardless, these dandelions were a bright spot that stand out against the park’s vast desert terrain .

Written by:

Arnie Lee