Snow in Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth? It’s not what it looks like

It’s a confounding picture for individuals who know Demise Valley as the most popular place on Earth.

The hills of the nationwide park — sometimes scorched brown from the warmth — are coated in a blanket of white in a photograph posted to Fb by the U.S. Division of the Inside.

Snow? In Demise Valley?

By no means. The winter-wonderland look depicts a phenomenon often called salt flowers, attributable to latest rainfall, park officers mentioned.

Park spokeswoman Abby Wines mentioned the photograph, which was posted on Tuesday, was snapped alongside low hills a couple of mile north of Furnace Creek, an space identified for its excessive warmth.

“Principally, it’s groundwater that will get drawn as much as the floor, evaporates and leaves behind minerals and salt,” Wines mentioned. “It seems freshest, it seems greatest, proper after it rains.”

The contemporary salty crust will erode over time, park rangers mentioned on Fb, however rain will reset the method.

Though it appears uncommon, Wines mentioned it’s all a part of Demise Valley’s common cycle. A 16-year resident of the realm, she mentioned she has come to understand the park’s delicate shifts from salt to mud to erosion, a lot as these in different components of the nation recognize the 4 seasons.

“Right here in Demise Valley, it’s like, “oh the hills look vibrant and white once more,” she mentioned. “These are the adjustments that you simply actually recognize whenever you dwell in a spot and see the range.”

And though thunderstorms do happen in Demise Valley, the park sometimes solely receives about 2 inches of rain per yr, she mentioned.

Snow on the valley flooring is even rarer: Hint quantities have been recorded solely a handful of occasions, based on the Nationwide Climate Service.

Final yr, Demise Valley recorded a scorching 130 levels, regarded as the very best temperature on Earth in almost a century.