The once-great lake has lost most of its water and now spans less than a tenth of the area it covered in the 1960s.
Published Nov 25, 2017
The top photograph was taken by Apollo-7 crew in October 1968 during a mission to test control of a spacecraft moving into different orbits. Based on photographs from Gemini and Apollo, the estimated open water area of Lake Chad was over 22,000 km² (Mohler et al. 1989, Lullaet et al. 1991). Although not known at the time, Lake Chad would not be observed this full again from orbit—it had significantly decreased in area when it was observed by Landsat in 1972. Space Shuttle crews have continued to photograph dramatic fluctuations in Lake Chad. A sampling of this time series from 1982-2000 is shown below the Apollo image.
Published Mar 12, 2001
In the desert, a lake shows a long fight between water, wind, and climate.
Published Feb 20, 2012
The spits etched into a desert in Chad were actually formed thousands of years ago along the shores of a vast lake.
Published Feb 17, 2020
Straddling Austria and Hungary, the lake is also known as the “Sea of the Viennese.”
Published Apr 10, 2017
At the juncture of the border between China and Russia sits Lake Khanka, also known as Lake Xinghai. Due to their importance to plant and animal species, the lake and the surrounding wetlands are protected by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the protection and sustainable use of wetlands. Migratory birds that frequent this lake include several endangered species, such as the Japanese crane.
Published Feb 18, 2007
Located on the border of Russia and China, Lake Khanka plays an important role in supporting biodiversity in the region.
Published Jun 10, 2019
The light tan oval in this image is the floor of a lake in central Italy that has been drained by a tunnel dug through the surrounding hills. Numerous rectangular fields occupy the former lake bottom—now one of the most fertile regions of Italy. The area is still referred to as “Fucine Lake,” even though the lake has been dry for nearly 150 years.
Published Mar 17, 2008
Roughly the same size of Belgium, Canada’s Great Slave Lake runs nearly 2,000 feet deep.
Published May 24, 2019
By mid-June 2009, the rare filling of this lake in Australia’s Simpson Desert appeared to have reached its peak.
Published Jun 21, 2009
