Lake Mead shows drought’s toll

Recent satellite images from NASA show the water loss that has occurred over the last 22 years at droughtstricken Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir and a lifeline for California, neighboring states and Mexico.

The images show how a deep blue strand of water snaking through the Nevada desert in August 2000 has drastically receded and narrowed amid the parched landscape by July of this year. Lake Mead and much of the Colorado River Basin are in the midst of a 22-year drought.

Water levels at Lake Mead — formed by the

Hoover Dam — are at their lowest levels since 1937, when the reservoir was being filled. As of Monday, the lake was at 27% capacity, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The drought has brought a reduced snowpack, massive dust storms, persistent wildfires and vegetation

NASA A SATELLITE IMAGE of Lake Mead taken this month. The reservoir was at 27% capacity on Monday. The lake is at its lowest levels since it was filled in 1937.