New satellite images released from Nasa this week showcase the dramatic reappearance of California's Tulare Lake after water swallowed swaths of land across the state's agricultural center that had long been dry.
Taken between the start of February and the end of April and colored artificially to help distinguish the water from vegetation and bare ground, the images highlight the scale of the transformation across the region still grappling with the aftermath of this winter's heavy rains and snow.
This isn't the first time the "ghost lake" has caused widespread flooding, but the onslaught of weather whiplash wreaked havoc on residents, agricultural workers and farms - and it's far from finished.
Tucked against the Sierra Nevada's white-capped peaks, the region will have to reckon with surges of snowmelt filling its waterways as the weather warms. On Thursday, the snowpack in the southern Sierra was 436% of normal for this time of year, according to California's department of water resources (DWR).
"This year's massive snowpack is posing continued flood risks in the San Joaquin Valley," said DWR director Karla Nemeth in a written statement, noting the bittersweet outcome of very wet winter after years of drought.
The snowpack will lead to sustained high flows across the San Joaquin and Tulare basins over several months, Nemeth said.
Widespread damage has already been done. The rapidly rising waters forced evacuations across the region in early spring, as communities rushed to higher ground. In Tulare county - one of the world's largest milk-producing regions - thousands of cows were lost to the floods, while roughly 75,000 had to be trailered to safety. Growers were washed out of key crops and workers lost out on jobs across the waterlogged valley.
Decades have passed since Tulare - once the largest body of fresh water in the west - served as a vibrant wetland sprawling across nearly 800 sq miles. Carved up with canals and cleared for the cropland and livestock pastures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the basin now spans across multiple counties and is home to roughly 4 million Californians.
About half a dozen towns remain at risk from flooding, including Corcoran, where city officials are rushing to raise a sinking levee before the waters rise further. Stretching across 14.5 miles, the levee protects against flood waters up to 188ft. In March, Tulare Lake levels crept close, rising to 178ft.
"The Corcoran community only has a small window of time and dry conditions before the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range snowmelt runoff converges with existing floodwaters in the Tulare Lake, and against the Corcoran Levee," emergency officials warned in a press release in April, noting that requests for state and federal funding had been made.
Snowmelt is "projected to increase the Tulare Lake water to a dangerously high level that significantly intensifies the risk of overflow and erosion on the Corcoran Levee", they added.
Nasa's satellite images show areas where water managers have already redirected flows, filling ponds that will allow the water to seep underground and feed depleted aquifers. The DWR has initiated emergency work to pump high river flows away from the floodplain and into these recharge basins. Over the next four months, the plan could capture more than 55,000 acre-feet of water, according to the agency. (One acre-foot represents the amount of water needed to cover a football field a foot deep.)
Others are also pushing for more water to be diverted into the historic lakebed ahead of the snowmelt, arguing that flooding the basin will alleviate overflows upstream and protect those who call the area home.
"This year will result in record high amounts of water entering the Central Valley between Fresno and Bakersfield," resident Martin Chavez wrote in both English and Spanish on an online petition signed by hundreds. "Communities on the front line will first face the danger of this statewide issue, as the water is directed downstream out of stressed reservoirs."
It seems strange that the geological echoes of yesterday were so easily dismissed whilst Government fans the flames of Global warming, yet in one season Mother Nature reclaims dust bowls and redefines the landscape in which folk live ( or did live ).
Decades have passed since Tulare - once the largest body of fresh water in the west - served as a vibrant wetland sprawling across nearly 800 sq miles. Carved up with canals and cleared for the cropland and livestock pastures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the basin now spans across multiple counties and is home to roughly 4 million Californians.
Some of the stupidest fucking projects America has undertaken have been the reclamation of wetlands for agriculture in an attempt to control mother nature. Here a few years back we had major flooding that was so close to being a total loss when former marshes which had been developed into commercial districts with lots of apartment complexes were flooded. The massive rains we had actually missed the main part of the watershed by about 10 miles. A direct hit would have cost billions. And long time residents of the area had loudly objected and warned of a future catastrophe when development was first proposed decades ago.
I hope this is a salient reminder that mother nature is a bitch and can't be controlled. I think about these things every time I hike through ancient riverbeds which are one really wet season from being rivers again, and maybe a decade's worth of wet seasons from becoming permanent for a few decades or centuries.
Artex World-wide written records of the Maunder Minimum (1672-1699) show wild swings in weather patterns; droughts, monsoons, hotter and (mostly) colder temps by wide margins, and to add to the mix, more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. We're only in the early days of a similar period, as far as I can tell, anyway. Rougher days ahead. And as far as stupid projects go, those are still going, aren't they? Have you seen this one? [Link]
Some of the stupidest fucking projects America has undertaken have been the reclamation of wetlands for agriculture in an attempt to control mother nature. Here a few years back we had major flooding that was so close to being a total loss when former marshes which had been developed into commercial districts with lots of apartment complexes were flooded.
Not just by coincidence, the same thing happened two decades ago in Germany, along the river Elbe.
Water meadows stretching dozens of miles along the river where declared "building land". Especially after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, real estate speculators and construction companies made millions.
After some catastrophic floods between 2000 and 2010, thousands lost their houses, insurances, or both.
Our ancestors were a bit smarter in this regard - usually.
balboa schwartz Heh, from an engineering perspective, that seems like a pretty stupid project based on the idea that if it's in the desert, daily temperature variations are going to wreak havoc on the materials used in construction, and even lubrication of moving parts is going to require regular re-application of high temp grease or other lubricants. I don't know exactly where they're planning this, but sand and dust could also be a factor. And if it's in the more temperate parts of NM, then that's kind of a shame too. I didn't used to think they were an eyesore, but after you get over the sheer size of these things, they start to look ugly fairly quickly.
codis Yeah, I have been thinking about spending some time looking at historical maps and seeing if we keep making the same mistakes or it's just that modern civilization chooses to forget that cycles occur. In the U.S. it's easy to forget since written history here isn't more than 500 years old and we did a bang-up job of trying to erase the indigenous peoples who had spoken traditions that held this information.
Artex Most Westen European countries kept very detailled records for centuries. There is a vivid "amateur historian" movement in Germany and Austria, mostly working through local church records. Which usually date back to 12th or 13th century. My parents for example have a book reporting about recorded names and date of people tortured and killed in the 30-year war in 1618-1648.
Hardly ever did they such foolish things.
As said that changed somehow 30 years ago. Even a wet meadow in my parent's village, where never anyone built for centuries, was suddenly declared "building ground". And sure enough, after less than 10 years, the new building developed huge vertical cracks ...
I've had enough of someone else's propaganda. I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against. I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I am for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
- Malcolm X
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I hope this is a salient reminder that mother nature is a bitch and can't be controlled. I think about these things every time I hike through ancient riverbeds which are one really wet season from being rivers again, and maybe a decade's worth of wet seasons from becoming permanent for a few decades or centuries.
Water meadows stretching dozens of miles along the river where declared "building land". Especially after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, real estate speculators and construction companies made millions.
After some catastrophic floods between 2000 and 2010, thousands lost their houses, insurances, or both.
Our ancestors were a bit smarter in this regard - usually.
Hardly ever did they such foolish things.
As said that changed somehow 30 years ago. Even a wet meadow in my parent's village, where never anyone built for centuries, was suddenly declared "building ground". And sure enough, after less than 10 years, the new building developed huge vertical cracks ...
The decline is visible in almost every aspekt ...