Water levels rebounded in Lake Powell
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features Lake Powell, where water levels rebounded in the summer of 2023 after falling to record lows in early 2023.
The image shows portions of Lake Powell, which straddles the border of Utah and Arizona, on October 20, 2023. The photo was captured with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8.
Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the United States. The water in the reservoir jumped from 22 percent full in April to about 40 percent full in early July.
According to NASA, above-average snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains provided some short-term relief to the reservoir, but long-term drought remains.
“The Colorado River feeds Lake Powell and Lake Mead farther downstream. Most of the river basin is arid or semi-arid and generally receives less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of precipitation per year,” said NASA.
“Managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and other agencies, the river provides water and electric power to roughly 40 million people – most notably the cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Diego – and water to 4 to 5 million acres of farmland in the Southwest.”
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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