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Lake Mead's rapidly declining water levels can be seen over time in photographs.
Over the past year, the reservoir—which is formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River—has gained national attention due to concerns that it could reach deadpool in just a few years.
Deadpool, which is below 895 feet, is the level at which water wouldn't flow over the dam anymore, meaning it would no longer be able to provide electricity to the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it.
The lake's declining water levels is down to the megadrought gripping the southwestern United States. This stretch of drought has been drier than any other recorded in the U.S. in the past 1,200 years. Scientists put it mainly down to human-driven climate change.
The dry weather has meant seasonal rainfall and melting snowpack hasn't replenished the lake as quickly as the water is being used.
The effects of the drought can clearly be seen in satellite images and photographs. Images shared by the NASA earth observatory show side by side images of Lake Mead in July 6, 2000, and July 3, 2022.
On July 3 2022, the lake appeared noticeably smaller in size.
July was a particularly dry month for the reservoir, when it dropped to the lowest level it has ever been, at 1,040 feet.
Although 2022 marked the lowest point the lake had ever been, it was also a year in which water levels rose for the first time in three years. This was due to a particularly wet monsoon season.
As of January 2, the Lake's water levels were recorded at 1,044.99 feet.
But water levels haven't risen enough for concerns to be put to bed and the future still looks dire for the reservoir.
Lake Mead's water levels were the highest they have ever been in 1983. Water levels were so high at that point, that it was actually overflowing.
A picture taken on July 5, 1983, shows an aerial view of the Hoover Dam, at a time when Lake Mead was overflowing into the side spillways.
A close up image of the overflow in the 1980s shows water hurtling out of the Hoover Dam.
A picture from 1940 shows a sailboat on the lake, just a few years after its construction, with white marks barely visible about the water.
Recent photos from 2022 however, show drastic changes.
One photo taken in September 2022, shows a white bathtub ring near the Hoover Dam, indicating where the water levels used to be. In the photo, the water can be seen well below the white ring.
In 2022, lake levels were so low that strange and gruesome things revealed themselves. Shipwrecks and dead bodies, previously concealed by the lake's waters, have been found as the water continues to drop.
Another photo from 2022 shows people walking up a boat ramp that no longer reaches the water, as levels are so low.
Lake Mead's future is hard to predict. It isn't certain when, or if, the lake will ever hit deadpool, but as the drought rages on it's looking increasingly possible.
A projection from the Bureau of Reclamation estimates that there is a 47 percent chance water levels could reach below 1,020 feet in 2023.
Lake Mead isn't the only body of water suffering the effects of the ongoing drought.
The Great Salt Lake in Utah has recently recorded its lowest water levels ever at 4,188.2 feet. Parts of the Mississippi River have also been drying up amid dry conditions. Particularly low water levels have been recorded in Memphis, Tennessee.
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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
