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Images related to Living in a Desert Basin

Algae in Great Salt Lake
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Algae in Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake of northern Utah is a remnant of glacial Lake Bonneville that extended over much of present-day western Utah and into the neighboring states of Nevada and Idaho approximately 32,000 to 14,000 years ago. The north arm of the lake, displayed in this astronaut photograph from April 30, 2007, typically has twice the salinity of the rest of the lake due to impoundment of water by a railroad causeway that crosses the lake from east to west. The causeway restricts water flow, and the separation has led to a striking division in the types of algae and bacteria found in the north and south arms of the lake.

Published Jul 16, 2007

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Salt Lake Water Woes
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Salt Lake Water Woes

In October 2016, one of America’s largest lakes reached its lowest level on record.

Published Nov 3, 2016

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Lake Urmia
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Lake Urmia

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

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Utah
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Utah

Published Feb 19, 2001

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Lake Chapala, Mexico
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Lake Chapala, Mexico

Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle and Space Station have tracked regional environmental changes spanning decades. Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake, serves as one example of an area experiencing significant changes that have been well documented from space. Over the past twenty years, the lake’s water levels have decreased in conjunction with increasing development from the fast-growing city of Guadalajara.

Published Aug 30, 2004

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Disappearing Walker Lake
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Disappearing Walker Lake

Like this lake in northwestern Nevada, many of the world’s prominent salt lakes are drying up.

Published Apr 4, 2018

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Flood Waters Reach Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre
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Flood Waters Reach Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre

The usually dry, inland lake in Australia came alive with color after flood waters arrived in the late summer of 2017.

Published Feb 27, 2017

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Visualizing the Highs and Lows of Lake Mead
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Visualizing the Highs and Lows of Lake Mead

In May 2016, the reservoir behind Hoover Dam reached its lowest level since the 1930s.

Published May 27, 2016

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A Pulse of Water for Lake Powell
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A Pulse of Water for Lake Powell

Heavy winter and spring snowfall provided much-needed meltwater, but the effects of long-term drought mean the lake is nowhere near its highs from the 1980s and 90s.

Published Oct 1, 2019

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Rare Filling of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre
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Rare Filling of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre

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

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A Tale of Contrasting Rift Valley Lakes
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A Tale of Contrasting Rift Valley Lakes

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

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Runoff Raises Lake Powell
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Runoff Raises Lake Powell

Surging with fresh water from heavy winter snow melt, Lake Powell rose significantly in the summer of 2011 after many years of low levels.

Published Aug 12, 2011

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Water Level Changes in Lake Mead
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Water Level Changes in Lake Mead

In August 2010, Lake Mead reached its lowest level since 1956, the result of a persistent drought and increasing human demand.

Published Sep 23, 2010

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Red on White: Lake Maharlu
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Red on White: Lake Maharlu

Salt and algae lend color to the bed of this desert lake in Iran.

Published Feb 20, 2017

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Mono Lake, California
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Mono Lake, California

Published Jan 13, 2008

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Lake Khuvsgul
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Lake Khuvsgul

The largest freshwater lake in Mongolia is known as the “sister” to Lake Baikal. Together they hold 20 percent of the fresh water on the planet.

Published Dec 18, 2017

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Lake Powell Low Despite Spring Snow
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Lake Powell Low Despite Spring Snow

The last decade has been rough for the reservoir at the heart of the intricate water storage system that sustains the American Southwest.

Published May 10, 2013

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