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It's a shame we don't have satellite imagery dating back to when Europeans first arrived on the continent. I suspect the whole western US was once far more lush
by briga 6y ago
It's a shame we don't have satellite imagery dating back to when Europeans first arrived on the continent. I suspect the whole western US was once far more lush and green than it is today. The central valley in California, for example, used to have several natural lakes. Who knows how much impact the damming the Colorado river has on the ecology of the southwestern deserts. I can't imagine that concentrating water into man-made reservoirs combined with intensive agriculture has done much to help the drought conditions we see today across the US.
- tkinom 6y agoWhen spaceX arrive in Mars, I am sure "Google Mars" will start logging time lapse for Mars.
- seiferteric 6y agoI have heard that the creeks in the central valley used to run most/all of the year because the water table was practically at the surface. This also allowed for the healthy salmon runs we used to have. Now all the creeks are dry by early/mid summer.
- briga 6y agoThat's true in silicon valley too, I remember seeing fish drowning in tiny pools of water because the creeks dry up so much. The floodplain of the san francisco bay has just been so heavily developed that there's just not enough water to go around.