This museum grade fine art photograph is available in a fine art limited edition of 200, signed and numbered with a signed Certificate of Authenticity (COA) provided for additional provenance.
Badwater Destruction - The Milky Way over Badwater Basin after Lake Manly Receded, Death Valley, CA
Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California
The Milky way over Badwater Basin, Telescope Peak and the Panamint Range after Lake Manly Receded, Death Valley National Park, California
Receding flood waters reveal the destruction of the salt formations in Badwater Basin as the Milky Way rises high into the sky above Death Valley National Park. Gone are the famous white salt hexagon shapes Badwater Basin is known for, replaced by short rings of brown salt mixed with mud spreading as far as the eye can see, a sharp visual contrast against the white salt flats.
The hexagon rings would eventually return, as this is all part of the never-ending flooding and drying cycle that occurs here in Badwater Basin. Badwater Basin averages 1.9 inches of rain per year against a 150 inch per year evaporating rate, so as the freeze-thaw and evaporation cycle repeats itself the salt contract and form the hexagon shaped rings and the process starts anew.
The brown, flat rings of salt and mud leftover after the flooding destroyed the salt hexagons line the salt flats as far as the eye can see, as Telescope Peak and the Panamint Range rise up to an elevation of 11,049 feet according to the NPS. This rise is a stark contrast to Badwater Basin, which sits at -282 feet below sea level (the lowest elevation in North America). It creates an 11,331 foot vertical rise from Badwater Basin across just 17 miles, a greater vertical relief than the south rim of the Grand Canyon, one of the most dramatic elevation contrasts on Earth. From the Panamint Range ridgeline, you can simultaneously see both Mount Whitney (highest point in the contiguous US) and Badwater Basin (lowest point in the contiguous US).
Note: Telescope Peak rises to 11,043 feet above sea level according to the National Geodetic Survey and NOAA (NAVD 88, NGS Benchmark GS0799), the highest peak in Death Valley National Park. The NPS lists the elevation as 11,049 feet, a slight variation reflecting different measurement datums and methodologies. The vertical rise from Badwater Basin to Telescope Peak using the NAVD 88 measurement is 11,325 feet. This is likely the more accurate measurement, but I've opted to quote the NPS measurement above to match their official website pages.
To see more of my work of Badwater Basin at sunset with colorful storm clouds, please see Under the Sea, Badwater Magic, Sunset Torpedo, Nature's Watercolor, Fire in the Sky and Storms over Badwater.
To see my nightscape work of Badwater Basin and during the transition to night, please see Changeover, Zenith, Gleam, Celestial Salt Waves and Stardust.
Badwater Basin: Exploring the Salt Flats in the Aftermath of Flooding after Lake Manly Receded
As soon as I heard Badwater Road was partially reopening the northern section the night of November 13, 2015, I made a beeline for Badwater Basin. I'd previously been exploring the open parts of Death Valley ever since the October 18, 2015 flooding resulting from 2.75 inches of rain in just 5 hours, preceded by 0.5 inches of rain the day before. Since Badwater Rd and Badwater Basin had been closed, I'd photographed Lake Manly from above from Dante's View, but now that the flood waters were receding and it was back open, I was eager to see what changes resulted from the flooding and drying cycle that repeats itself over time here.
Artist's Drive was still closed from the damage resulting from flooding, and so was Badwater Road south of Badwater Basin, but the road to the basin was now opening, so I made haste from Dante's View and Zabriskie Point and quickly arrived Badwater Basin. The waters of Lake Manly had receded far out into the furthest reaches of the salt flat by then, leaving a whole new world to explore around the salt flats of Badwater Basin that had since began to dry out now that the water receded.
I was curious to see how the landscape here had changed from the flooding, doubtful that my beloved salt hexagon formations had survived. As I made my way out, I noticed new areas which looked like brown and white waves of salt, something that hadn't been here to this extent before. As I got further out, my exploration confirmed the white ridges of salt hexagons were gone. Still, amongst the white salt flats, you could see brown rings of salt and mud where the salt rings once stood, stretching as far as the eye could see, these brown rings covered the area where the famous white salt hexagons once stood. It was a sobering reminder of the power of nature to enact change, yet at the same time it was beautiful in its own manner. Every direction I looked had new patterns of the brown rings and lines against the white salt flat.
Spread out before me in a place I was intimately familiar with was a new, unique sight I hadn't seen before. Even though my beloved salt hexagons were gone, it was fun to explore as I looked for just the right angle. I knew the geology of this place, so I knew the famous white salt hexagons would eventually return as the freeze-thaw and evaporation cycle that creates them played out. But for now, I stood in wonder, a moment frozen in time as I explored the new, temporary nature of this place. Once the salt rings re-formed, this sight wouldn't return until the next flood cycle starts the process all over again, and even then it would be different. That's what makes Badwater Basin so special.
History and Geology of Badwater Basin: The Lowest Elevation in North America
Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation in North America at -282 feet below sea level, with the salt and mineral deposits found in the salt flats here measuring from 3 inches up to 5 feet thick in some places, below which lies a thick layer of mud. Lake Manly formed here between 185,000 - 128,000 years ago, reaching 80 to 100 miles long, 6 to 11 miles wide and 600 feet deep. It dried up between 10,000 and 35,000 years ago, leaving behind the salt flats we know today, and the muddy layer of sediment underneath.
The hexagon shapes in the salt flat form through a process of freeze-thaw and evaporation cycles. The 150 inch per year evaporation rate creates the raised white honeycomb shaped hexagon patterns as the salt contracts and breaks. The salt flats naturally form the hexagon patterns because a hexagon pattern is the most energy efficient pattern to cover the ground. Badwater Basin spans over 200 square miles and is composed of approximately 95% sodium chloride (table salt), with traces of gypsum, calcite and borax.
Legend has it that the name Badwater Basin came from an early surveyor, whose mule refused to drink from the spring fed pool near the present day boardwalk. The water wasn't actually bad, it just has a high salinity. The spring fed pool near the boardwalk is lined with salt tolerant plants such as pickleweed, which can be seen growing next to the spring's pool in my photo Gleam. The pool is home to the Badwater snail (Angustassiminea infima), an endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. As of 2001, the Badwater snail population had declined to approximately 15% of its natural distribution due to water level decreases and trampling by visitors.
Technical Specifications
- Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
- Settings: 16mm | f/2.8 | 37 Seconds | ISO 6400
- Process: Single Exposure | Bespoke Multi-Layer Noise Management (Manual Masking to preserve fine detail and raw data integrity)
Historical Note
The honeycomb like hexagon shaped salt rings of Badwater Basin are ephemeral, changing size, shape and location as the landscape endures the never ending cycle of heating, drying, and flooding as the cycle repeats itself over time. As such, each photo of these formations is a unique moment in time that rarely exists in quite the same manner once the cycle repeats.
Since this image was captured, the cycle has repeated multiple times. Flooding has washed away these specific hexagon shaped salt rings as water rushes down during flooding, transforming Badwater Basin into Lake Manly, completely dissolving the salt rings and starting the process anew. As such, this photo stands as a moment long since gone: a moment frozen in time through the wonders of photography.
Note on Provenance
Captured using the single exposure workflow of the "Mead Method," developed over 15 years of fine art landscape experience. This image preserves a genuine, single moment in time executed entirely in the field without the use of composites, sky swaps, or generative AI. Just a single moment in time, preserved.
Photo © copyright by James Mead.
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