Pages

Sunday, December 28, 2014

THE BADWATER BASIN IS THE LOWEST POINT IN THE CONTINENTAL USA - A beautiful but salty and dry place with strange patterns in Death Valley - Athletes run the gruelling Badwater Ultramarathon in 55C along the 135 mile route.

daily life©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/. Unauthorized duplication of this blog's material is prohibited.   Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full credit and link is given to Otters and Science News Blogspot.  Link to this post:  http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-badwater-basin-is-lowest-point-in.html - Thank you for visiting my blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bizarre arrangement of salt flats in Badwater Basin, California, covers a vast expanse of 200 square miles.  Vehicles are prohibited from the area so not to spoil the delicate arrangement of crystals and plants.  The enclosed basin is 282ft below sea level and doesn't drain away so leaves behind the salt crystals when water evaporates - leaving cracks in the dry surface.
Photo: Death Valley salt bed
The above picture is by Dan Desroches, National Geographic.

The following photos are by photographer Rob Etzel. 

 Vehicles are prohibited from the area so not to spoil the delicate arrangement of crystals and plants and animals struggle to survive

With no rain for weeks, computer software worker Rob Etzel ventured out to the remote basin to see the patterned basin.  Mr Etzel, 45, spent several hours hiking his way to Badwater Basin to capture these amazing photographs.
 These incredible patterned pictures of a salt plain valley look like they could be a giant garden patio. The bizarre arrangement of salt flats in Badwater Basin, California, covers a vast expanse of 200 square miles
He said: 'The hexagon-shaped cracks are formed because of thermodynamics - the heat and the environment is harsh.  Rare rain events can flood the valley and there are underground springs that can occasionally bring up surface water. 'But when I arrived, there had not been rain for many weeks, nor any significant rain for many months.'
Mr Etzel, 45, spent several hours hiking his way to Badwater Basin to capture these amazing photographs
 
Links to these pictures:
 
 
 

The science behind the Badwater Basin
in Death Valley National Park

The salt flats in Badwater Basin cover nearly 200 square miles, among the largest protected salt flats in the world.
 
Salt flats are too harsh for most plants and animals to survive, yet are quite fragile. Delicate crystals are easily crushed and the relatively thin upper crust of salt can break through to the mud layer below, leaving tire tracks and even footprints. For this reason, vehicles are prohibited off established roads in Death Valley.
 
What causes salt flats?

Three basic things are needed for salt flats to form:
  • source of salts, usually from a large drainage system
  • enclosed basin that doesn't drain to the sea and wash away the salts
  • arid climate where evaporation exceeds precipitation, leaving behind just the salts and fine silt
 
salt crystals
salt crystals
Salt of the Earth

Sodium Chloride—better known as table salt—makes up the majority of salts on Badwater Basin. Other evaporative minerals found here include calcite, gypsum, and borax.

Intense Concentration
 
The source of Badwater’s salts is Death Valley’s drainage system of 9,000 square miles—an area larger than New Hampshire. Rain falling on distant peaks creates floods that rush ever lower.

Along the way, minerals dissolve from rocks and join the flood. Here, at the lowest elevation, floods come to rest, forming temporary lakes.

As the water evaporates, minerals concentrate until only the salts remain. After thousands of years, enough salts have washed in to produce layer upon layer of salt crust.

Crystal Power

 The vast, surreal salt flats of Badwater Basin change constantly. Salt crystals expand, pushing the crust of salt into rough, chaotic forms.


Newly formed crystals ooze between mudcracks, sketching strange patterns on the surface of the salt flat. Passing rainstorms wash off windblown dust and generate a fresh layer of blinding white salt.

Floods create temporary lakes that dissolve salts back into solution, starting the process all over again.

Source
http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/salt-flats.htm


RELATED

The Badwater Ultramarathon

  • It is the equivalent to running five marathons back-to-back
  • Runners endure temperatures up to 55C along the 135-mile route
  • Route from Badwater Basin to Mount Whitney involves 13,000ft ascent

  • Endurance: Lorie Alexander, 54, from Canada, was one of nearly 100 competitors to take part in the race beneath the relentless glare of the California sun

    Read more and see additional pictures
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2373161/Badwater-Ultramarathon-2013-Gruelling-photos-runners-competing-relentless-Death-Valley-heat.html
     

    ****************************************************************************
     

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Thank you for visiting my blog. Your comments are always appreciated, but please do not include links.