Climate Challenge: What was the water level in Lake Mead at the end of July?
Image Credit: NOAA, Climate.gov, Rudy SalakoryThe July round of our “Climate Challenge” social media game pitted experts against players to answer the following question: What will the water level be in Lake Mead on July 31, 2015?
According to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the lake’s elevation measured at 1,078.15 feet on the last day of the month—137.61 feet below its last peak in 1998. The graph shows lake elevation (in feet) from 1940 through July 31, 2015. The photo, taken on July 10, 2015 at the Hoover Dam, shows the high points and low points of Lake Mead’s water history. The white “bathtub ring” seen on the rocky sides of the reservoir shows the historical high water level in the reservoir. The ring is a coating of minerals, deposited on the rocks while they were covered by water.
Last July, Lake Mead reached its lowest water level since the lake was first filled after the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
More: Climate Challenge: What was the water level in Lake Mead at the end of July?
