Death Valley National Park is known as the hottest, driest, and lowest point in North America, often painting a picture of an utterly waterless landscape. Despite its extreme reputation, water is present within the national park, sustaining unique ecosystems. This water is not primarily sourced from local rainfall, which averages less than two inches annually. The existence of oases, perennial streams, and temporary lakes confirms that a complex hydrological system is at work beneath the surface of this vast desert basin.
The Primary Hydrological Source
The water that sustains Death Valley largely originates from a massive groundwater system rather than the limited precipitation that falls directly onto the valley floor. This aquifer network is fed by snowmelt and rainfall from distant, higher-elevation mountain ranges, such as the Spring Mountains in Nevada. The water slowly filters through porous rock layers, traveling underground before being forced to the surface by geological faults and rock formations within the valley.
This regional groundwater flow is the source for the springs and seeps that create the park’s permanent water features. The Amargosa River is a major component of this system, but it is classified as an ephemeral river, meaning it flows above ground only in certain stretches. For most of its 185-mile length, the river’s water travels beneath the surface before reappearing in areas like the Amargosa Canyon and eventually terminating in the Badwater Basin area.
The flow in the Amargosa River is perennial in some sections, where the deep groundwater is forced upward into the channel by underlying impermeable rock layers. This phenomenon creates lush riparian areas in the Mojave Desert, supporting dense greenery and wildlife.
Notable Surface Water Locations
Visible water in Death Valley National Park exists in both permanent oases and ephemeral features. Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level, is one such location, though it is typically a vast expanse of salt flats. The basin is an endorheic system, meaning water flows in but does not flow out to the sea, leading to the concentration of minerals and the formation of a thick salt crust.
A small spring-fed pool of water exists near the Badwater Basin boardwalk, which is highly saline due to the surrounding salt deposits. This small pool supports endemic organisms like the Badwater snail and pickleweed. The salt flats themselves can transform into a shallow, temporary lake following significant rain events, such as those delivered by tropical storm remnants, which can briefly re-establish a temporary body of water several miles wide.
Salt Creek is an example of a permanent stream in the valley, sustained year-round by groundwater discharge. This creek supports the Salt Creek pupfish, a small species that has adapted to the extreme conditions, surviving in water temperatures that can fluctuate from near freezing to over 100°F and salinities that sometimes exceed that of seawater. Springs like those at Furnace Creek also act as oases, creating small but biologically diverse wetland habitats.
The Legacy of Ancient Lake Manly
The vast salt flats and mineral deposits found in Death Valley today are a direct geological consequence of the massive prehistoric body of water known as Lake Manly. This lake filled the valley floor repeatedly during the Pleistocene epoch, corresponding with the Ice Ages when the climate was much cooler and wetter. At its greatest extent, Lake Manly may have been nearly 90 miles long, 6 to 11 miles wide, and up to 600 feet deep.
The lake was fed by meltwater from glaciers in the Sierra Nevada and connected to a chain of overflowing lakes in the Great Basin. Shorelines, known as strandlines, can still be observed on the slopes of mountains surrounding the valley, such as on Shoreline Butte, marking the ancient water levels.
When the climate warmed approximately 10,000 years ago, the influx of water slowed, and the lake began to evaporate rapidly under the increasing aridity. As the water body receded, it left behind the enormous volume of dissolved minerals and salts that had accumulated over thousands of years. The evaporation process concentrated these minerals, creating the extensive salt flats of sodium chloride, gypsum, and borax that characterize Badwater Basin.