The Menindee Lakes in New South Wales are facing extremely low water levels.
Published Feb 26, 2019Sections of Australia have been experiencing their worst drought in 100 years. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station documented conditions in Australia in 2002, including these images of Lake Tandou in the Menindee Lake system along the Darling River. The Menindee Lakes are part of an innovative water conservation project. This lakebed is protected from flooding and is used for agriculture—primarily cotton, sunflower and grains. It is one of several interconnected lakes that sit along the lower Darling River like a string of pearls. Other lakes function as water capture reservoirs to support controlled water flow for environmental and agricultural needs down river, and to provide flood mitigation.
Published Dec 1, 2002Acquired September 30, 2010, this astronaut photograph shows part of the Syr Darya River Floodplain in Kazakhstan, where the river flows through braided channels.
Published Nov 1, 2010The central lake in this astronaut photograph is one of hundreds in the Iberá swamplands that were formed by South America’s second largest river, the Paraná. Although this great river now lies 120 kilometers to the north of this area today, its channel has swung over a great “inland delta” in the recent geological past.
Published Jan 31, 2005Natural vegetation and irrigated farmland along the Snake River Plain in Idaho use dramatically different amounts of water during the growing season.
Published Jan 26, 2010This astronaut photo from January 4, 2010, shows meander scars and oxbow lakes in the floodplain of the Rio Negro in South America.
Published Feb 15, 2010The release of a burst of extra water on the lower Colorado River allowed vegetation on the banks to revive and sprout new growth.
Published Dec 18, 2014Ephemeral lakes grow with a fresh pulse of water in December 2011.
Published Jan 2, 2012A one-time pulse of water is bringing a burst of new life to the lower Colorado River.
Published May 1, 2014Between 2002 and 2012, water levels dropped significantly in these manmade lakes in the Sahara.
Published Jul 16, 2012