At a Glance

Heavy rain and flooding caused a rare lake to appear in California's Death Valley.A Los Angeles-based photographer captured mesmerizing images of the temporary lake.

Heavy rains and flooding created a rare, 10-mile-long lake last week in the driest spot in the United States – Southern California's Death Valley National Park.

Photographer Elliot McGucken of Los Angeles was on his way to Badwater Basin in Death Valley when he came across the temporary and unnamed lake near Salt Creek on March 7. The mesmerizing shots he captured and showed the the rugged Panamint Range reflected beautifully in the still water of the newly formed lake.

"It's a surreal feeling seeing so much water ," McGucken told SFGate.com. "There's an irony even though I couldn't get down to Badwater Basin. Overall, I think these shots are probably more unique."

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McGucken said he contacted the park, and while the exact length of the lake is unknown, park officials estimated that it was about 10 miles long.

Death Valley was soaked by 0.87 inches of rain March 5 and 6, nearly triple its March average rainfall of 0.3 inches and about one-third of its annual average rain of 2.36 inches, said weather.com meteorologist .

"Because water is not readily absorbed in the desert environment, even moderate rainfall can cause flooding in Death Valley," Dolce said. "Flash flooding can happen even where it is not raining. Normally dry creeks or arroyos can become flooded due to rainfall upstream."