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Record Rain Resurrects Ice Age Lake In Death Valley
Record autumn storms brought 2.41 inches of rain, more than Death Valley's yearly average, creating a shallow lake that has drawn visitors and caused road closures, officials said.
- Updated Dec. 12, 2025, Death Valley National Park announced that Lake Manly, an ancient Ice Age lake, has reemerged in Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level.
- Storms between September and November dropped 2.41 inches of rain, more than Death Valley's average annual rainfall of about 2 inches, including a record 1.76 inches in November surpassing the 1923 mark.
- Park officials say the water is shallow and about a mile from the Badwater parking lot, while NASA researchers found the lake was 3 to less than 1.5 feet deep and visible into the new year.
- Road closures throughout the park have been enforced as fall flooding covered paved roads with debris, while Death Valley Inn reported business increases of 20% to 30%, and officials urged visitors to be prepared to self-rescue.
- Park officials said it's too soon to know if the rains will spark another superbloom, noting the last one occurred in 2016, and expressed concern that hotter conditions and climate change could affect plants, birds and wildlife.
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Providence Journal+5 Reposted by 5 other sources
Prehistoric Lake Manly returns to Death Valley after record rainfall
The lake dates back to the Ice Age, when it was once 600 feet deep.
·Providence, United States
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Ancient ghost lake reappears in Death Valley National Park after record rainfall
DEATH VALLEY, Calif.– An ancient lake that rarely appears, has reemerged once again in the driest place in North America — Death Valley National Park. Lake Manly, a lake that was once 100 miles long and 600 feet deep more than 100,000 years ago, now only reappears after excessive rainfall in Death Valley National Park. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America, lying 282 feet below sea level, and normally lies empty as a dry salt flat…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Left, 37% Center
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left, 37% of the sources are Center
38% Left
L 38%
C 37%
R 25%
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