This is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. There is a small spring-fed pool that, while totally unfit for drinking, is actually home to a lot of aquatic life (flora and fauna) including the endemic Badwater Snail. The ground is covered with salt deposits (thus making the water undrinkable). The salt looks a little bit like snow, and the whole place is very stark but quite beautiful. Taken 11/11/11 with a Canon G9.

The gray ones are Heermann’s Gulls; the one on the ground with the pink legs is a Western Gull, I believe (hard to tell from this angle).