Badwater Basin, on the floor of Death Valley in eastern California, is the lowest point in North America and the United States at 282 feet below sea level. Its broad salt flats and a small spring-fed pool of mineral-rich, undrinkable water define the landscape, though that pool still supports a few specialized forms of life. The basin’s white salt crust was created over time as ancient Lake Manly and later floodwaters repeatedly evaporated in this closed valley, leaving minerals behind. Even today, brief flooding after storms is followed by intense evaporation, renewing the crystals and reinforcing one of Death Valley’s most extreme and iconic settings.