From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lake Manly
The Lake Manly system rendered as it appeared during its last maximum 22,000 years ago
Location	Death Valley Inyo County, California
Coordinates	36°13′12″N 116°49′38″W / 36.22°N 116.8272°W / 36.22; -116.8272Coordinates: 36°13′12″N 116°49′38″W / 36.22°N 116.8272°W / 36.22; -116.8272
Lake type	Endorheic rift lake (former)
Primary inflows	Furnace Creek Wash
Primary outflows	Terminal
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	130 km (81 mi)
Max. width	10 km (6.2 mi)
Surface area	260 km2 (100 sq mi)
Max. depth	240 m (790 ft)
Surface elevation	-86 m (−282 ft)
Sections/sub-basins	Badwater Basin Middle Basin Cotton Bail Marsh

Lake Manly is a pluvial, former freshwater, endorheic, rift lake that filled the Death Valley basin of Inyo County, California through the Holocene before the area's climate changed to desert. Following its isolation from the Colorado River system, Lake Manly receded by evaporation with Badwater Basin, Middle Basin, and Cotton Bail Marsh occupying the space left behind. At its greatest extent Lake Manly was roughly 80 mi (130 km) and 800 ft (240 m) deep.^[1]

Background

Pleistocene Lakes and Rivers of Mojave

As Lake Manly evaporated to the surface of Death Valley, it left a remarkable legacy. Under the surface of Death Valley is one of the world's largest aquifers. Being fed by the Amargosa River and Salt Creek, this aquifer is barely visible above ground at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the valley at -282 ft (−86.0 m).^[1]

Shoreline Butte has easy-to-see strandlines formed by wave action from the ancient. These features were created by stands of the lake, which would change its depth over time and also cause slight changes in climate. The conditions under which this lake existed are called "pluvial" by geologists instead of glacial because glaciers did not directly touch Death Valley - but the meltwater from the glaciers and the cooler and wetter climate of the time affected the valley. Approximately 8,000 ft (2,400 m) of gravel, sand, and mud overlay the bedrock of the valley floor.

Lake Manly is named after William L. Manly, who was among the original Death Valley party in 1849. Manly and a companion hiked out of Death Valley into the Greater Los Angeles Area, where he found help and returned to rescue his party.^[2]

Reemergence

In 2005, severe flooding resulted in Lake Manly reappearing on a large scale.^[3] More than 100 square miles (260 km²) were covered by the lake, allowing some tourists and park rangers to become probably the only humans to canoe across Death Valley. The lake was about two feet at its deepest point. It evaporated quickly, leaving behind a mud-salt mixture.

References

Further reading

• Philip Stoffer (14 January 2004). "Changing Climates and Ancient Lakes" (.html). Desert Landforms and Surface Processes in the Mojave National Preserve and Vicinity. Open-File Report 2004-1007 (USGS, US Department of the Interior). http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/climates.html. Retrieved 2009-09-12.  

External links

• 3-D Geology of Death Valley National Park USGS
• Kayaking Death Valley's Badwater
• Kayaking Lake Manly