Ancient lake returns to Death Valley after rare record rainfall

An ancient lake that disappeared from California’s Death Valley National Park thousands of years ago has made a rare return after the area was flooded by record rainfall.

Recent storms have transformed Badwater Basin, which sits 282 feet below sea level and marks the lowest point on the continent, into a shallow lake, according to a Dec. 4 news release from the National Park Service.

The basin, widely known as Lake Manly, was once a vast Ice Age lake that stretched 100 miles and plunged up to 600 feet deep more than 100,000 years ago.

The enormous lake dried up as the climate warmed, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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Badwater Basin, the site of Manly Lake, is seen showing the lake receding due to evaporation April 23, 2024, near Furnace Creek, California. (George Rose/Getty Images)

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But after months of unusually severe storms, water once again filled the former lake bed.

Between September and December, Death Valley received 2.41 inches of rain, including a record 1.76 inches in November alone, according to the National Park Service.

“These fall storms brought more rain than Death Valley typically receives in an entire year,” the National Park Service said.

People walk on the salt flats around Badwater Basin, home to Manly Lake, near Furnace Creek, California, April 23, 2024. (George Rose/Getty Images)

Manly Lake last resurfaced in 2023, when Hurricane Hilary dropped 2.2 inches of rain on Death Valley. Then, in February 2024, an atmospheric river flowed another 1½ inches, deepening the basin enough for people to kayak, the LA Times reported.

The current lake “is much smaller and shallower than the one that formed after the remnants of Hurricane Hilary passed through the park,” the National Park Service noted.

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Kayakers paddle on Manly Lake in Death Valley National Park, California. (Bridget Bennett for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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An employee at the Death Valley Inn noted that although the lake is not very deep, activity has increased 20 to 30 percent since its re-emergence, according to the LA Times.

“It looks more like a very, very large riverbed with no flow, a wading pool perhaps,” the employee told the LA Times.