Before And After: Lake Mead And The Drought

LAKE MEAD NRA, NV - JULY 25: In this composite image, (Left) Lake Mead Marina is seen behind dry, cracked earth in an area that was once filled with water from Lake In this before-and-after Mead July 25, 2007 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)LAKE MEAD, NRA, NV - JULY 17: (Right) Lake Mead is seen in the distance behind dry, cracked earth in an area that used to be underwater near where the Lake Mead Marina was once located on July 17, 2014 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. In 2008, the marina was moved due to low water levels. Last week, North America's largest man-made reservoir dropped below 1,082 feet above sea level, the lowest it's been since the Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s. A 14-year drought in the Southwestern United States and a dwindling supply of water from the Colorado River, in part due to cuts in the reservoir's annual allocation of water from Lake Powell, has left a white 'bathtub ring' of mineral deposits left by higher water levels on the rocks around the lake as high as 130 feet. The National Park Service has been forced to close or extend boat launch ramps, and move entire marinas to try to keep up with the receding water levels. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)