The storm that brought an entire year’s worth of rain to Death Valley National Park — in a single day — also left some exciting surprises in its wake. Stunning and extremely rare lakes pooled in usually bone dry and exceptionally hot and arid areas of the park — already one of the hottest places in the world. In fact, the pond has since dried up — but it left behind some “amazing mud cracks” that haven’t yet been tread on by humans, Nichole Andler, the park’s chief of interpretation and education, told McClatchy News in an email.