Ancient Lake Formed During Ice Age Reappears in Death Valley; Rare Sight Is Fading Fast

An ancient lake has reappeared in the hot, dry landscape of California’s Death Valley, creating a rare and fleeting spectacle for visitors.

The new body of water is remnant of the massive Lake Manly, which formed during the Ice Age, Knewz.com has learned.

An ancient lake has reappeared in the hot, dry landscape of California’s Death Valley, creating a rare and fleeting spectacle for visitors. By: National Park Service/Abby Wines

Lake Manly was once 600 feet deep and ultimately carved out the lowest point in North America, Badwater Basin, which sits at 282 feet below sea level, according to The National Park Service.

Visitors to the popular tourist destination usually encounter the area’s desolate expanse of salt flats. But record rainfall last summer temporarily changed the landscape, creating a lake that has lasted well into 2024: longer than experts expected.

“We didn’t think it would be here anywhere near this long,” Abby Wines, a park ranger at Death Valley National Park, told ABC News for a Wednesday, January 24 report. “But if you were worried you might have missed it, you’re not too late. Come out here soon.”

In August of 2023, Hurricane Hilary brought a downpour that caused the park to close for nearly two months. When it reopened in October, visitors were suddenly given access to an unusual sight: a shallow lake stretching for miles.

Hurricane Hilary filled the basin with water, creating a lake that has lasted longer than experts expected it would. By: NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang

“As of mid January, the temporary shallow lake at Badwater is still present. Although it is only a few inches deep, it is very beautiful,” the NPS Death Valley webpage read on Friday, January 26. “This is a rare event; we don’t know how long the lake will be there.”

Wines told ABC News the lake, spanning several miles, was creating “otherworldly” views as it reflected the surrounding mountains — but that the hot, dry environment was causing it to shrink gradually.

The last time the basin filled with water was in 2005, and it took a week to dry up, she said.

Evaporation rates outpace the rate of rainfall in the region, according to a NASA Earth Observatory article.

On August 20, 2023, more rainfall hit Death Valley in a single day than the region usually gets in an entire year. By: National Park Service/K. Bott

Hurricane Hilary brought unusual weather as it prompted the first-ever tropical storm watch in California’s history. August 20, 2023 brought 2.2 inches of rain to Death Valley, exceeding the total annual rainfall average of 2.15 inches and breaking the previous single-day record of 1.7 inches, according to the NPS.

It was also the wettest August day on record for both downtown Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the National Weather Service.

In November, visitors to Death Valley reported seeing “springs flowing, bighorn sheep feeding on new greenery, and even some wildflowers blooming—a rarity outside of springtime,” the NASA Earth Observatory article said.

Lake Manly first formed when glaciers in the mountains of Nevada melted 15,000 years ago, causing water to collect in the basin, according to the NPS. As time went on, the changing climate turned the area into one of the harshest desert valleys on the planet.