Visitors gather at the sprawling temporary lake in the Badwater Basin salt flats of Death Valley national park, California. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

We had been wondering what the place might look like after Burning Man brought the rare weather to our attention:

Death Valley visitors delight in rare ephemeral lakes left behind by storm

Shimmering bodies of water have appeared in the sand dunes of the recently reopened national park after a summer deluge

After months of closure, visitors to Death Valley national park are being greeted by stunning new features, including lakes left behind by a ferocious summer deluge.

The park reopened last week after being shuttered in August, when a record-breaking tropical storm unleashed a year’s worth of rain in a single day.

Dramatic images emerging from the park show arid dunes now dotted with lakes.

“Some spectacular things happened in Death Valley following the floods we received from remnants of Hurricane Hilary back in August,” the park wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday.

“Ephemeral lakes popped up around the park, which is both pretty rare and amazing!” they added. “Lakes in the sand dunes wasn’t on our 2023 bingo card.”

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