Welcome to the Badwater Basin, the infamous salt flat of Death Valley, USA.   This area is one of the lowest in the world, and the lowest point in North America.   It sits 282 ft (86 m) below sea level and less than 85 miles from the highest point in the contiguous 48 states: Mount Whitney.  It is only an hour and a half away from Las Vegas, and makes a great day trip from the city.

These craters are actually small, hand-dug holes. Just inches below the surface of the flats is water (the salt flats are actually an old, dried-up, lake bed.   People dig holes with their hands to see the water, but it is so hot and dry out, that within minutes, the water dries up and leaves these alien looking craters.

Death Valley is a very beautiful place, but it is recommended to go in the winter because temperatures soar into the triple digits for a large part of the year (the hottest reliable and recorded temperature on Earth was recorded in Death Valley National Park, not far from this area, at 134F (56.7C) in July 10th, 1913. )

For this week only, you can download this photograph for only $3.  Various prints are also available and on sale all week.   Head over to DaniBlanchette.com to purchase this photo and see all the other travel and music photos available for sale.