There’s Water in Badwater!

I know that sounds reductive, but it is very rare to have water in Badwater Basin. We have been to Death Valley eight times over the last 12 years. We have seen a lake in Badwater three of those times. There is a lake there now that is the largest we have ever seen. In August, there was a tropical storm that dumped a year’s worth of rain in Death Valley that caused major flooding and damage that closed the park for two months. When it re-opened in October, visitors were greeted by the occasional lake called Manly Lake in the lowest part of the park (actually lowest point in North America). Based on social media posts, it’s still there and a ranger told me it will be there for 30-60 more days. If you want to see it, hurry up and go now.

Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America. It is an endorheic basin which is basically a giant drainage ditch that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water. This one is a salt basin where very little water seeps into the ground. Because Death Valley is so hot and so dry, most of the water disappears by evaporation. That’s why the lake lasts a pretty long time, but is not permanent.

We have walked as far as a mile to see the lake. The basin is 8 miles long and 5 miles wide. This time, we walked barley five minutes to get to the water and you could see the water from the road, miles away. We went everyday for four days and I think the water receded about 20 feet a day. The water is toxic, undrinkable, and is irritating to the skin. Walking in the water also breaks the salt pan and damages the basin, as well as hurts or kills worms that live beneath the salt. So, please don’t walk in the water or the soft salt. Even though there is a sign from the Park Service that says don’t go in the water, we saw plenty of Tourons doing it anyway. It is very irritating to see this. Most were people doing selfies and/or posing for their Instagram.

If you want the iconic reflection shot, you will need completely windless conditions. If the wind kicks up, even a little, the ripples appear and the reflection disappears. I checked the weather and we had a couple of bad days and a couple of good ones (when it’s windy, go shoot the sand dunes). The basin looks great at sunrise and sunset. We always shoot both when we are here.

Because of the low light of sunrise and sunset, I recommend a tripod. Because the landscape is so big, I also recommend a wide angle lens and/or try a panorama. I shot with a 10-24 mm and a 18-135 mm on my Fujifilm X-T5.

We have at least ten blog posts about Death Valley if you search for it on this blog site. To see more of and buy our photographs, please go to www.pamphotography.com and check out more of our photos on FLICKR.