The existence of the lake beds was described first by Levi F. Noble in 1926. In 1931, Eliot Blackwelder identified these lakebeds as the remnants of what he named Lake Tecopa. The area of the former lake has been the subject of numerous studies comprising various fields of geology but also biology, and an important target for field studies and field trips. Research in the paleoclimatic conditions of the region has received impetus from the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, since the future climate of the region is important in establishing how secure the nuclear waste would be.