.webp "Satellite imagery shows Shasta Lake in July 2019, left, and June 2021. The state’s largest reservoir is at about 35% of its capacity, officials said.
(NASA)")
As the West descends deeper into drought, climate and water experts are growing increasingly alarmed by California’s severely shriveling reservoirs.
On Monday, Shasta Lake — the largest reservoir in the state — held a scant 1.57 million acre-feet of water, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, or about 35% of its capacity.
A series of satellite images captured by NASA show just how dramatically the water level has fallen.
One image from July 2019 shows a fuller Shasta Lake surrounded by green banks. This year, that greenness has been replaced by a tan “bathtub ring” lining the lake bed, indicating the degree to which water has fallen.
