| Badwater Basin | |
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| Location | Death Valley Inyo County, California |
| Coordinates | 36°14′24″N 116°49′54″W / 36.23998°N 116.83171°WCoordinates: 36°14′24″N 116°49′54″W / 36.23998°N 116.83171°W |
| Lake type | Endorheic basin |
| Primary inflows | Amargosa River |
| Primary outflows | Terminal (evaporation) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 12 km (7.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
| Surface elevation | -86 m (−282 ft) |
| Settlements | Badwater, California |
| References | USGS GNIS: Badwater Basin |
Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley, Inyo County, California, noted as the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, is only 76 miles to the west.
The site itself consists of a small spring-fed pool of "bad water" next to the road; the accumulated salts of the surrounding basin make it undrinkable, thus giving it the name. The pool does have animal and plant life, including pickleweed, aquatic insects, and the Badwater snail.
Adjacent to the pool, where water is not always present at the surface, repeated freeze–thaw and evaporation cycles gradually push the thin salt crust into hexagonal honeycomb shapes.
The pool itself is not actually the lowest point of the basin: the lowest point (which is only slightly lower) is several miles to the west and varies in position. However, the salt flats are hazardous to traverse (in many cases being only a thin white crust over mud), and so the sign is at the pool. It is often mistakenly described as the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere, but that is actually Laguna del Carbón in Argentina at −105 meters (−344 feet).
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Geography
At Badwater, significant rainstorms flood the valley bottom periodically, covering the salt pan with a thin sheet of standing water. Each newly-formed lake does not last long though, because the 1.9 inches (48 mm) of average rainfall is overwhelmed by a 150-inch annual evaporation rate. This, the United States' greatest evaporation potential, means that even a 12-foot-deep, 30-mile-long lake would dry up in a single year. While the basin is flooded, some of the salt is dissolved; it is redeposited as clean crystals when the water evaporates.[1]
Painted on the cliff above Badwater is a sign that denotes "Sea Level".[2] The sign is popular with tourists.[3]
History
During the Holocene, when the regional climate was less dry, streams running from nearby mountains gradually filled Death Valley to a depth of almost 30 feet (10m), and together with Cotton Bail Marsh and Middle Basin, made up the 80 mi (130 km) long, Lake Manly.[4] Some of the minerals left behind by earlier Death Valley lakes dissolved in the shallow water, creating a briny solution.
The wet times did not last as the climate warmed and rainfall declined. The lake began to dry up and minerals dissolved in the lake became increasingly concentrated as water evaporated. Eventually, only a briny soup remained, forming salty pools on the lowest parts of Death Valley's floor. Salts (95% table salt - NaCl) began to crystallize, coating the surface with a thick crust from three inches to five feet thick (1-1.7m).[1]
In Popular Culture
- There is a map in the online video game Team Fortress 2 called Badwater Basin.
 Badwater Basin elevation sign |
 Repeated freeze-thaw cycle pushes salt crust into approximately hexagonal honeycomb shape |
 Salt pinnacles in Devil's Golf Course |
 Tourist area flooded by ephemeral Lake Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California. Spring of 2005. |
References
- ^ a b United States Geological Survey (2004-01-13). "Badwater". Death Valley Geology Field Trip. US Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20071224063142/http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deva/ftbad2.html. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ The American Southwest, Badwater, Death Valley National Park. Accessed 2009.11.19.
- ^ Tripadvisor, Badwater. Accessed 2009.11.19.
- ^ Philip Stoffer (14 January 2004). "Changing Climates and Ancient Lakes" (.html). Desert Landforms and Surface Processes in the Mojave National Preserve and Vicinity. Open-File Report 2004-1007 (USGS, US Department of the Interior). http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/climates.html. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
Further reading
- John McKinney: California's Desert Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide. Wilderness Press 2006, ISBN 0899973892, S. 54-55
- Don J. Easterbrook (Hrsg): Quaternary Geology of the United States. Geological Society of America 2003, ISBN 9459205046, S.63-64
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Badwater |
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