The salt flats at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park are one of the most popular attractions for visitors in the southwestern United States, each year attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. Badwater Basin is the lowest point below sea level in the continental United States, and is one of the hottest places on earth. The area itself is nearly completely desolate, with a crust of salt covering the desert floor in all directions, developed by years of drying as a result of the brutal sun over an ancient lake that has since become a dry lake bed. The salt flats are a visual wonder, white crust covering the ground for miles making the area look like the surface of another planet. It is a favorite of photographers, those seeking meditation and just the curious who want to gaze over an unspoiled result of the changing surface of the earth. When damage is done to natural phenomenon like this, it can take thousands of years to be restored, if at all. It is not as if it can be repaired as though you were repainting a house, and instead will generally become a scar on an otherwise perfect landscape.
On Wed., March 8 a van drove off the main road at Badwater Basin and onto the salt flats, leaving tire tracks the entire length of it’s drive before sinking up to it’s axles and becoming stuck. The van had driven for roughly one-half mile in the salt flats before sinking to the point of no longer being able to move forward or backward. The van remained in this place until two days later, when it was towed out by a tracked vehicle. The damage to the flats by both the van and the tracked vehicle that was necessary in order to remove the van will probably be visible for years, and will take a substantial effort to restore the flats as much as is possible by a process that uses careful ranking followed by watering in order to encourage regrowth of the salt crust. According to the Death Valley National Park Facebook page, the driver of the van has not been charged with a crime at this point in time, but faces potential fines of up to $5,000 as well as six months in jail. It is illegal to drive off designated roads within Death Valley or any other National Park in the United States. Signs are clearly posted informing visitors that doing so is a criminal act that will also cause potentially permanent damage to the landscape and ecosystem.
The rescue effort that removed the van from the flats was witnessed by Bindlestiff Tours tour guide and Operations Manager Jennie Dufour, who provided commentary on the incident to Bindlestiff Tours’ guide page in real time as the operation was taking place. Her feelings of distress were shared by all visitors and observers in the park at that point, who realized that thousands of years of creation can be destroyed in seconds by a single, careless individual. The salt flats themselves remain damaged at the current point, and it is uncertain if they will ever be fully restored to a point of not carrying the scar of this single instance of vandalism.
Death Valley applied for a 3-year grant to fund restoration of damage done by vehicles driving off road. If you support this grant application, please go to https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1164 to comment.
If you have a group of people interested in volunteering, please email deva_volunteer@nps.gov.
Photographs below courtesy of Death Valley National Park’s Facebook page:
