Death Valley & Alabama Hills

When we were in Death Valley in November, the road to Badwater was closed due to recent flooding. While we were only passing through on our way home, we still paused for some of this National Park's unique beauty.

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 ft below sea level. The salt flats here cover nearly 200 square miles, and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax making for a rather interesting horizon.

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. However, the water here is not truly “bad,” just very salty. Despite this high salinity, many organisms not only survive, but thrive here. 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.

It is just one of those places... indescribably unique.

Oh, and it gets hot here.

Our last Death Valley detour was tucked behind an unassuming yellow landscape. "The rainbow of Artists Palette is the highlight along the Artists Drive Scenic Loop. Here, visitors marvel at an array of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and green), splashed across the hills. These colors are from volcanic deposits rich in compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite, which creates a rainbow effect."