Filaments of green scum swirl across the surface of Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán in this photo-like image taken by NASA’s EO-1 satellite on November 27, 2009.
Published Dec 3, 2009
Floodwaters have worked their way through a series of parched channels, watering holes, and lagoons to start filling the iconic Australian lake.
Published May 28, 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
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 Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency in mid-June to remove the fast-growing weed, spending about $2 million per month on clean-up efforts.
Published Jul 13, 2004
Straddling Austria and Hungary, the lake is also known as the “Sea of the Viennese.”
Published Apr 10, 2017
This shallow, saline lake in Iran is one of the largest in the Middle East. But drought and water withdrawals for farming are shrinking it.
Published Aug 4, 2014
Lago de Valencia (Lake Valencia) is located in north-central Venezuela and is the largest freshwater lake in the country. The lake was formed approximately 2-3 million years ago due to faulting and subsequent damming of the Valencia River. The lake has been completely dry during several discrete periods of its geologic history. Since 1976 Lake Valencia water levels have risen due to diversion of water from neighboring watersheds—it currently acts as a reservoir for the surrounding urban centers (such as Maracay).
Published Nov 22, 2004
Long and short. Deep and shallow. Salty and fresh. Blue and brown. These are Africa’s Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa.
Published Jun 20, 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
Lake Jänisjärvi is a roughly oval-shaped lake, some 13 by 17 kilometers (8 by 11 miles) across, in northwestern Russia, near the Finnish border. The basin for this lake was formed hundreds of millions of years ago by a meteorite impact.
Published Apr 6, 2008
At an average elevation of 3,812 meters (12,507 feet), Lake Titicaca is one of the highest lakes in the world. The lake is positioned between two major ranges of the Andes Mountain chain and has very limited drainage. The limited outflow of the lake allows for the accumulation of nutrients derived primarily from surrounding communities’ agricultural and sewage waste. The increased nutrient levels can lead to plankton blooms. This astronaut photograph, taken from the International Space Station, captures two such blooms along the eastern shoreline of the lake.
Published Sep 20, 2004
