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Tourists flock to Death Valley to experience the natural event
Photo: David Swanson / AFP
Death Valley is known for heat and drought and not necessarily water sports. But things are currently looking different - at least a little: "A temporary lake offers a rare opportunity for kayaking in the driest place in the United States," said the US National Parks Administration.
The reason for this is the heavy rainfall in California over the past few weeks. Water has collected in the deepest point of Death Valley, the Badwater Basin. The Badwater Basin is a normally dry, drainless salt pan that lies 85.5 meters below zero.
"You would think that there would always be a lake in Death Valley since there is no outlet to the ocean," said park ranger Abby Wines, according to the release. »But that is an extremely rare occurrence. Normally the amount of water that flows in here is much lower than the evaporation rate."
The lake is colloquially known as Lake Manly. According to the information, it is around nine and a half kilometers long and five kilometers wide. It will probably only be deep enough for kayaking for a few weeks - but will still offer "beautiful reflections" until April.
Last year, after Hurricane Hilary hit in August, a lake was created in Death Valley that would have been deep enough for kayaking. At that time, visitors could not “really enjoy it,” according to the national park administration. At that time, the roads in the park were badly damaged. Most of the important roads are now passable again.
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