282 feet below sea level… Dang! Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley noted as the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 ft below sea level. The site itself consists of a small spring-fed pool of "bad water" next to the road; the accumulated salts of the surrounding basin make it undrinkable, thus giving it the name. The pool does have animal and plant life, including pickleweed, aquatic insects, and the Badwater snail. Adjacent to the pool, where water is not always present at the surface, repeated freeze–thaw and evaporation cycles gradually push the thin salt crust into hexagonal honeycomb shapes.
This is the view back towards the parking lot. It’s real hard to see but half way up the mountain is the sea level line. It’s hard to put this place in perspective, it’s so large. You can’t even tell there is a parking lot full of cars and rv’s.
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