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Badwater puts the Death in Death Valley California. Badwater
is hotter (200 degrees F in the summer) and dryer than any other place
in the United States, and at 282 feet below sea-level it’s the
lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. True to its name, the content
of the salt in the water (3-4 times that of sea-water) is so high that
no life can survive in this relentless chemical desert.
Salt defines Badwater. It rises in bizarre formation from the ground,
bakes into vast, flat planes and glistens in near-pure crystals in places
like the churned and broken landscape of the Devil’s Golf Course,
itself an the ancient bed of an evaporated salt lake.
Periodic flooding only draws more salt to the surface.
And yet for all its forbidding qualities, Badwater has a stark beauty
all its own. During the winter months, when temperatures are mild, one
can hike from the visitor’s center at Furnace Creek and see spectacular
desert scenery. Sunrises and sets paint the playa in pastel shades of
purple and pink. The jagged peaks and clear sky are reflected mirror
clear in the little, semi-permanent pond near the parking lot. Infrequent
but massive rainfalls and sudden storms are truly a sight to see as
the driest place in America is briefly filled with lakes and streams.
It’s at times like this that Badwater isn’t so bad. |
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