Article Reflection No. 78 (11/28/2023)

Article: “In Death Valley, a Rare Lake Comes Alive”

Reflection:

In The New York Times article “In Death Valley, a Rare Lake Comes Alive”, journalist Jill Cowan details an uncommon phenomenon in a national park that has faced 130-degree heat: a lake in the middle of the Badwater Basin’s white salt flats. This lake was created through Tropical Storm Hilary three months ago, where an influx of water flooded down mountains and extensively forced road closures, with 2.2-inch rain — a record — on one day alone. A lake had not been created in that location for almost two decades, Cowan writes. Meanwhile, as park ranger Abby Wines shares, climate change models predict storms with increased intensity and frequency, according to Cowan. While the rain does allow the desert to quench its thirst periodically, the indigenous members of Death Valley, including the Timbisha Shoshone tribe, are also “remind[ed] of what [their] community has lost”: the peace in the park that also provided an opportunity to reflect on one’s homeland (Cowan). The  photographs, taken by Mette Lampcov also capture the beauty of this rare phenomenon, with one displaying a hazy, streaked sunset reflected by the lake water. 

Nature will take its course, wherever it may go, and this Death Valley lake seems to show the beauty that may result. While it is a reminder of the grave effects of climate change, it also provides an opportunity to focus on the beauties of nature.