Trail Type: Boardwalk then route, out and back Round Trip Length: 1 mile (1.6km) to edge of salt flat HIKING NOT ADVISED AFTER 10AM IN THE SUMMER Nowhere else in America can you see such a dramatic vertical relief over such a close distance. Also take a moment to pick out Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range to the west at 11,049 ft (3, 368 m), this peak is over two miles (3.2 km) above you. Be sure to look up on the cliffs of the Black Mountains to the east here you will see a sign high above, indicating sea level. The pool and boardwalk are easily accessible from the parking lot off Badwater Road, but the best views of the salt polygons require an easy 1.5-2 mile (2.4-3.2 km) roundtrip walk out onto the salt flats. Today, fascinating geometric salt polygons form on the flats as groundwater rises up through these deposits and evaporates. When the lake eventually evaporated, concentrated salt deposits were left behind. The lake had no outlet, leading to the accumulation of sediment and salt over time.
The pool is home to an endemic snail naturally found only at this location, and its rim is dotted with salt tolerant plants, including pickleweed.īadwater Basin was once the site of the large ancient inland Lake Manly which evaporated tens of thousands of years before the arrival of the 1849er for whom it was named.
Despite this high salinity, many organisms not only survive, but thrive here. However, the water here is not truly “bad,” just very salty. Stories suggest that Badwater Basin earned its name when a mule belonging to an early surveyor refused to drink from the spring-fed pool near the present-day boardwalk. The salt flats here cover nearly 200 square miles (518 square km), and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax. The lowest point in North America is a surreal landscape of vast salt flats.īadwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.
0 kommentar(er)
