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Free Traveling Guides » States » California » Deserts
Badwater
Badwater is a salt flat in
Death Valley National Park. It contains the lowest spot in North
America, with an elevation of 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level. It was
between 2000 and 3000 years ago after when Recent Lake, a salt lake which
once had a depth of 30 feet (10 meters) dried up. Unlike the
Devil's Golf Course, frequent
rainstorms flood Batwater, covering the salt deposit with a thin sheet of
standing water. However, the water doesn't last long, because the 1.9-inch
(48 mm) annual rainfall is offset by a 150-inch (3800 mm) annual evaporation
rate. The hot sun forms cracks in the salt (shown above), creating hexagonal
regions approximately 6 to 8 feet (2 to 2.5 meters) in diameter.
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