There are countless articles about how the changing climate is negatively affecting people across the globe.
This is not one of those articles. This is about how climate change, specifically the drought in the Southwest United States has allowed a new generation of Americans to see some of the hidden marvels of Mother Nature.
Lakes like Lake Powell on the Colorado River are man-made. In this case, Lake Powell was filled up in 1963 and there are not a lot of us who were there in 1963 to see what was covered up once the Glenn Canyon Dam was constructed and allowed to fill up. The recent drought has changed our view.
Lake Powell is currently filled to 24% capacity (9/8/2022), which means that it has dropped 18 feet from just one year ago. Below is a link to an article by Barbara Miller, Anne Worthington and Jill Colgan outlining the changes in the lake as a direct result of the current drought conditions.
Colorado River
Candidly the landscape that is now exposed reminds me of my travels to the great American Southwest, especially in the dry canyons of Utah and my favorite natural wonder – The Grand Canyon. They are simply awe inspiring.
What is difficult to comprehend is the scale of magnitude. As you look at the photos, remember that much of what you see was completely covered by water for most of the last 59 years. You could literally ride a boat over the top of them and not even realize they were below you.
Lake Powell
Imagine how many gallons of water have been lost (well not lost but re-appropriated elsewhere) to allow this to happen – 8.23 million acre-feet (MAF) . There are 325,851 gallons in a single acre foot of water. So multiply that by 8.23 million and you begin to under stand the enormity of the change that has affected this area of the Colorado River. It is hard to comprehend.
In the meantime, I think I will find a way to “borrow” the grandkids and take them there to witness it for themselves – much like our own children did when we visited the Grand Canyon all those years ago. There probably isn’t any reason to hurry. While we will no doubt work on refilling this reservoir (and others) that is a very big task.
Every gallon counts. Do your part and consider drip irrigation where possible.
