United States Badwater Salt Flats, Death Valley National Park

5 images 1 contributors

Jeff Sullivan

About this spot
The lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level, the salt flats in Badwater Basin offer unique shooting opportunities. In wetter winters, the Badwater Basin collects mineral-laden rain runoff from the surrounding mountain ranges, briefly re-forming a trace of the historic Lake Manly which existed at this site thousands of years ago. This pool of salty water can be miles across, and as it evaporates, the surface of the basin is re-formed in a clean coat of white rock salt. Cracks underneath the salt can form a pattern of irregular polygons, typically three to six feet across and surrounded by raised borders up to several inches tall.

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