At 86 metres below sea level, Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America. You walk out onto a vast hexagonal salt flat — the patterns are formed by repeated cycles of flooding and evaporation over millennia. In winter and spring it's a brisk, otherworldly hike; in summer the ground temperature can hit 90°C and the salt reflects heat like a mirror. Look up at the valley wall: a small sign marks sea level, 86 metres above you.
Badwater Basin
Lowest point in North America at 86m below sea level