America's largest reservoir Lake Mead is 73% empty. NASA shares stark pictures

The depth of the damage the continuing drought is wreaking on America's greatest reservoir, Lake Mead can be seen in recent shocking photographs released by NASA. Newly released satellite images that were taken by NASA's Earth Observatory show the dramatic decline in the water levels. As of July 18th, Lake Mead stands at its lowest level of just 27 per cent of its full capacity. This is the result of a 22 years long downward trend. The reservoir's water levels are the lowest they've been since April 1937, a time when the reservoir which has a maximum storage capacity of 9.3 trillion gallons (36 trillion litres) was still being filled for the first time.

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Water from Lake Mead is used by millions; Farmers, a few communities living on tribal lands in Arizona, Nevada, California, and northern Mexico.

Michael Carlowicz, of NASA's Earth Observatory, called the shocking state of Mead a "stark illustration of climate change and a long-term drought that may be the worst in the US West in 12 centuries."

The majority of the water in this enormous reservoir originates in the Rocky Mountain range's snowmelt, which flows via Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, and Lake Mead before entering the reservoir.

^{Image courtesy: NASA's Earth Observatory}

In addition to being an important supply of drinking water and irrigation for the Southwest, Lake Mead is a popular boating destination and national recreation area.

The US National Park Service reported that five of the six boat ramps/launches are currently closed.On its website, it said that "Declining water levels due to climate change and 20 years of ongoing drought have reshaped the park’s shorelines."

It added that “As Lake Mead continues to recede, extending launch ramps becomes more difficult and more expensive due to the topography and projected decline in water levels.”

The summers of 1983 and 1999 marked the last time the lake was close to capacity.

(With inputs from agencies)

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