A 10-mile lake has appeared in the middle of the driest spot in the United States.

Death Valley in California, a portion of the northern Mojave Desert, is known for being one of the hottest places in the world - with temperatures frequently reaching over 43C (110F) during the summer months.

But recent heavy rains and flooding have resulted in the formation of a lake in the national park, captured in photos and uploaded to social media by Elliot McGucken.

The photographer stumbled upon the rare phenomenon on March 7 after a storm had severely flooded the area.

While he was hoping to get a glimpse of water in the Badwater Basin, he found the lake instead.

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“It’s a surreal feeling seeing so much water in the world’s driest place,” 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.”

The lake, according to park officials, is estimated to be about 10 miles long - and the result of nearly one inch of rainfall.

According to weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce, the 0.87 inches of rainfall that fell early in March made up about one-third of the area’s annual average of 2.36 inches.

Even though it was just a small amount of rain, the extremely dry climate is not able to quickly absorb the water.

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