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Why is Badwater in Death Valley below sea level?

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tectonic basins and rift valleys Escarpments of the Great Rift Valley rising above the plain north of Samburu Game Preserve, central Kenya. Beisa oryxes graze in the foreground.

Badwater Basin in Death Valley is located below sea level because it is a tectonic basin, specifically a graben or rift valley, formed by the sinking of the Earth's crust.12

This depression was created through crustal extension, a process where the Earth's crust fractured and blocks of rock moved apart. As these blocks diverged, a central segment of the crust subsided, or dropped downward, between parallel mountain ranges that were simultaneously being uplifted. This vertical movement, known as block faulting, began approximately 30 million years ago and has continued to cause the valley floor to sink and tilt over time. Consequently, this structural depression resulted in a low-lying area that sits 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level, making it the lowest point in North America.31245