Death Valley playa lake 2024 (in Explore)

            This is the Badwater Basin at Death Valley, California. Last time I was there in 2012, it was a dry, hard, crunchy, salty lakebed patterned by polygonal cracking / salt ridges. The whole area is normally dry but for a few weeks once every few decades after major rains.

Well a decade later, and thanks to Hurricane Hillary last year and a few storm events since, the basin has turned into a playa lake again, about a foot deep everywhere. (Sort of our reason for visiting, but sort of serendipitous really).

As the lake quickly evaporates, it starts precipitating salt crystals that float like ice like when a lake just starts to freeze, while the shoreline recedes and starts to firm up again.

Hundreds of people and families wander out in to the new lake each day to experience this phenomena, most with shoes in hand and their pants rolled up, many with their phones taking photos. This young couple ventured out farther than most, which allowed me to use a telephoto lens to isolate a simple pastel photo.

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Taken in: United States / California / Badwater (show map)

Taken on: March 10, 2024

Tags:

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death

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vacation

playa

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badwater

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california

usa

fuji

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Groups appears in: • Rocks and Geology • Death Valley more » • The Southwest United States • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • ibeer art gallery,taiwan • PLANET EARTH IN PANORAMA • in explore • WONDERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL.MARAVILLAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA EN « less

Camera: Fujifilm GFX100S, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, 200mm (=158mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Fujifilm GFX100S
Lens:	GF100-200mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/850)
Focal Length:	200mm (35mm equivalent: 158mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 25.5 (Windows)
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