Lake Panamint

It was formed mainly by water overflowing through the Owens River and which passed through Lake Searles into the Panamint Valley.

The town of Ballarat lies in the valley,[4] and California State Route 190 crosses the former lake basin in its northern sector.

[12] Volcanic activity between 7.7 and 4 million years ago preceded the opening of the valley, leaving basalts stranded on either side.

[13] Tufa deposits have been found in the Panamint Valley, some of which form fringing reefs[16] and algal mounds.

[19] Cobble beaches developed at the Nadeau Road and Lower Water Canyon localities,[17] while wave-cut terraces were identified close to Ballarat[15] and Big Four Mine Road and delta deposits close to Panamint Springs.

[30] When such overflow occurred is unclear[23] but apparently was restricted to oxygen isotope stage 6; during oxygen isotope stage 2 Lake Panamint was the terminal basin for the Owens River[2] and no overflow occurred after about 30,000 years before present.

[2] Various fish such as suckers (Catostomus) and Western chubs (Gila and Siphateles) inhabited the lake when it was overflowing.

During shallow water periods, foraminifera also populated the lake,[2] and the presence of diatoms and other planktonic fossils was reported already in the 1950s.

[6] During the most recent highstand of Lake Panamint, humans occupied its shorelines and left stone tools.

By 15,050 ± 80 years ago Lake Panamint began to recede as overflow from Searles ceased.

Pleistocene maps near Death Valley