Many people were surprised when an old lake came back to life in Death Valley last year. It looks like the lake might be here for longer than was first thought.
The Badwater Basin in Death Valley began to fill up with water again in August of last year, thanks to the rain that fell during Hurricane Hilary. More than 2 inches of rain fell in Southern California during the hurricane, which led to the first tropical storm watch in the state’s history. Park rangers said the rain that was filling up the lake, which used to be called Lake Manly, would end in February.
Since this is the case, experts say there’s a chance the water in this area will stay there or fill up after February. A lot of rain has been falling in California lately because of air rivers that have been moving over the state. California has been getting a lot of rain lately, which has kept the lake full and made it bigger. This showed experts that the lake would last longer than they thought.
Satellite pictures were used to track changes in the lake. They showed that there wasn’t much water in the lake in July, but from August to February, it was almost full. Death Valley is without a question the driest place in North America. It only rains 2 inches there every year. But it has rained over 5 inches in this area in the last 6 months.
Experts aren’t sure how long this lake will last, but they think it will stay for a while longer because more atmospheric rivers are expected to hit the area from Monday through Wednesday. These rivers will likely keep filling the lake.
Records show that at its highest point, Lake Manly could hold 700 feet of water. Right now, when there is the most water in it, people can kayak in it. The lake in Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level. The last time it filled up was in 2005, and it stayed that way for about a week.
