Ancient lake returns to California's Death Valley after vanishing thousands of years ago

An ancient lake that vanished from California's Death Valley National Park thousands of years ago has made a rare return after the area was soaked by record-setting rainfall.

Recent storms have transformed Badwater Basin, which lies 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 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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But after months of unusually heavy storms, water has once again filled the ancient lake bed.

Between September and December, Death Valley received 2.41 inches of rain, including a record-breaking 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. 

Lake Manly last resurfaced in 2023, when Hurricane Hilary dropped 2.2 inches of rain on Death Valley. Then, in February 2024, an atmospheric river delivered 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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An employee at the Death Valley Inn noted that although the lake is not very deep, business has increased 20% to 30% since it reemerged, according to the LA Times.

"It's more like a very, very large riverbed without the flow, a wading pool maybe," the employee told the LA Times.