Badwater Salt Flats (Death Valley)

Sunset at Badwater Salt Flats in Death Valley National Park.

Badwater Basin Salt Flats for a peaceful sunrise. The story is told that “Badwater” got it’s name because a traveler was coming through and his mule refused to drink because of the high salt content. Badwater Basin is one of the largest protected salt flats in the world. It covers approximately 200 square miles. The salt flats are quite fragile. The delicate crystals are easily squashed with the thin upper crust that breaks when too much force is applied to it such as footsteps and tire tracks. Badwater Basin Salt Flats is 282 feet below sea level making it the lowest point in North America. After a rain storm Badwater floods with water forming a lake of standing water filled with minerals dissolved from the rocks and mountains above. Once the water has evaporated, the salt leaves behind layers of salt crust. This is what we see today, years of flooding, salt accumulating and leaving behind hexagonal shapes and patterns of built up salt layers.

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