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Rising water levels in Lake Mead are submerging a shipwreck once again, before and after pictures show.
Nevada's Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the U.S., has seen a steady increase in water levels over the past few days.
This came following a High Flow Experiment initiated by the Bureau of Reclamation, which saw a huge amount of water being released from Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, which forms Lake Powell. Between April 24 and 27, up to 39,500 cubic feet per second of water was released from the dam—a much higher rate than usual. From there, the water traveled through the Grand Canyon, carrying vital water to Lake Mead, which has been drying up due to the drought currently gripping the southwest.
As of May 1, Lake Mead's water levels stood at 1,049.77 feet—the highest it has been since last year.
The reservoir's water levels have risen enough that a vertical speedboat shipwreck, which lies near the Government Wash area of Lake Mead, has once again submerged in water.
The vertical speedboat was first documented in May last year by Las Vegas resident Travis Pardee, back when declining water levels were starting to reveal a number of mysterious finds. The boat had somehow surfaced in an upright position, although it is not clear why.
The boat likely spent many years submerged under water, before Lake Mead started to dry up.
During the summer of 2022, Lake Mead saw some of the lowest water levels it has ever seen, reaching a low of 1,040 feet in July. Pictures showed the vertical speed boat still upright, but in a completely dry piece of land.
An image from September 2022 showed the boat pictured with no water surrounding it.
However, photographs taken by waterfowl hunter Mikey Tantalo and posted to Instagram on May 1, show the boat once again submerged in water.
"Water's rising!" Tantalo said in the caption.
As the reservoir's water levels continued to decline, several shipwrecks and long-lost artifacts were found by visitors.
The southwestern U.S. has been in a megadrought for the past two decades. But over the past winter and into early spring, an above-average amount of snowpack has accumulated in the surrounding mountains. This was due to a particularly wet season.
This has allowed the Bureau of Reclamation to initiate above-average flows in order to fill Lake Mead, which provides water for 25 million people living in the Colorado River basin states.
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About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
