California rainstorms brought — and kept — a lake at Death Valley

Historic rainstorms that lashed California recently have kept a rare phenomenon around — a lake at famed hot spot Death Valley.

Historic rainstorms that lashed California recently have kept a rare phenomenon around — a lake at famed hot spot Death Valley.

The lake formed at Badwater Basin in August, on what normally is a salt flat, after Death Valley National Park saw heavy rains and flash floods caused by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary, park officials said.

The atmospheric river events over the last two weeks brought heavy rain to much of California and will keep the lake around longer than it would otherwise exist, the park said in a statement Thursday.

“Most of us thought the lake would be gone by October,” park ranger Abby Wines said in the statement. “We were shocked to see it still here after almost six months. This week’s rain will extend how long the lake is here. It’s too shallow to kayak in, but it makes amazing reflections of the mountains.”

People walk along Lake Manly, a temporary shallow lake at Badwater Basin, in Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Dec. 24.Abby Wines/NPS photoDeath Valley usually only gets around 2 inches of rain per year, but it got just shy of 5 inches over the last six months, almost entirely because of Hilary and the recent atmospheric river event, the park said Thursday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/california-rainstorms-brought-kept-lake-death-valley-rcna138211

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