The Colorado River Basin Drainage provides life-preserving water to 7 southwestern US States and 3 Mexican States in this arid desert region.  Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams, creating Lakes Mead and Powell - the two largest reservoirs in the US, were built to provide flood control and assure a steady water supply to these areas.

Since 1999/2000 the southwest has been in a severe drought.  Lake Mead and Lake Powell provide incontrovertible evidence of the severity, which we document here with graphs and beautiful scenery, albeit with “bathtub rings.”

Lake Powell runs 186 miles with a capacity of 7.9+ trillion gallons.  In 1999 it was at 97% capacity, by 2005 it had dropped 137 feet to 33%, a decrease of 5.1 trillion gallons.  Lake Mead, 112 miles long with a capacity of 8+ trillion gallons, was at 97% capacity in 2000, down to 38% in 2008, a decrease of 4.9 trillion gallons, for a combined loss of 10 trillion gallons in both lakes, resulting in a loss of hydroelectric power and in varrying stages of water rationing.

The links open galleries of scenic photos and NASA satellite image overlays showing the effects of the drought.