The site, considered the lowest point in North America and the US, lies 86 meters below sea level. The site was considered the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere until the discovery of Lake Laguna del Carbon in Argentina, whose surface is 105 meters below sea level. It is the lowest point in Argentina, South America, the Western Hemisphere, and the Southern Hemisphere.
The highest point in the continental US, Mount Whitney (4421 meters above sea level) in the Sierra Nevada, is only 136 kilometers from Badwater. Every year in July, the world’s toughest ultramarathon - the Badwater Ultramarathon - takes place on the 217-kilometer route from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, with the participation of the world’s best runners, triathletes, and climbers. Participants in the ultramarathon run non-stop for 23 or even 47 hours in temperatures that sometimes exceed 55 degrees Celsius.
Badwater Crater, the lowest spot on Mars, was named after Badwater Basin because of their similarities.
