The National Park Service (NPS) was surprised Monday after the weather managed to move Lake Manly two miles north of where it usually lies.
Lake Manly in Death Valley National Park somehow migrated roughly two miles thanks to heavy sustained winds throughout the region, according to NPS. The water levels dropped substantially due to increased evaporation from the wind speeds between Feb. 29 and March 2.
“It was amazing to see an entire lake migrate!” Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a statement from the park. “But now the water is drying up, leaving wide mudflats. People were walking a long way, sometimes dragging their boats. This leaves footprints and drag marks that will likely be visible for years. This left us with no choice but to curtail boating on historic Lake Manly at this time.”
Full moon setting over Lake Manly in Death Valley pic.twitter.com/khk8hqMJ5B
— Patrick Donnelly (@bitterwaterblue) February 25, 2024
Kayaked Lake Manly twice this week. Even after all these years, Death Valley continues to surprise me. pic.twitter.com/e1Qb32mwnc
— Krista Diamond (@KristaDiamond) February 29, 2024
The lake in Death Valley! One can almost imagine the ice age’s Lake Manly that filled this valley 600 feet deep, with a length of 100 miles. pic.twitter.com/ABa3eSV6a7
— Garry Hayes (@geotripper) February 18, 2024
Lake Manly isn’t always present in Death Valley. Every few years, the state gets more than enough rain for a shallow lake to form. Thanks to heavy rainfall throughout the start of the year, visitors were able to kayak on the lake, which grew to roughly six miles in length, three miles wide and a foot deep. (RELATED: Absurd Videos Emerge From US State As Residents Battle Debris Flows, Mudslides, Historic Flooding)
Wind speeds are thought to have reached at least 40 mph to push the water so far north and to spread it out to a shallower depth. Visitors are still encouraged to visit the dry lake bed and walk onto the salt flats, but there’s no chance of kayaking until the next major rainfall hits California.