Lake Mead

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Vandals of Ancient Rocks Now Face Prison Time

Nevada men toppled formations at Lake Mead, say prosecutors

(Newser) - An Oct. 8 trial date has been set for two Nevada men accused of damaging rock formations estimated to be 140 million years old at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. A federal indictment charged Wyatt Clifford Fain, 37, and Payden David Guy Cosper, 31, with one count of injury...

Video Catches 'Appalling' Act by Lake Mead Vandals

Authorities are seeking public's help in identifying suspects who toppled ancient Nevada rocks

(Newser) - Park rangers are asking the public to help them identify two men spotted on video vandalizing ancient protected rock formations at Nevada's Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The AP reports that the suspects appear in footage shot in the late afternoon on April 7, along the park's Redstone...

Yet More Human Remains Found in Lake Mead
Human Remains Found
in Lake Mead Identified
UPDATED

Human Remains Found in Lake Mead Identified

They belong to a 52-year-old man who vanished in 1998

(Newser) - Yet another set of human remains found in Lake Mead have been identified. Remains found last year on July 25, August 6, and August 16 in the Boulder Beach area all belong to Claude Russell Pensinger, a 52-year-old Las Vegas man who disappeared in 1998, NBC News reports. He was...

Snowpack Delivers Rare Good News to Great Salt Lake

It's 'miraculous,' says one researcher, though long-term prospects are still dicey

(Newser) - The news about the Great Salt Lake in January was about as grim as it gets: Scientists warned the saltwater lake in Utah might disappear altogether in five years, thanks to a combination of drought and heavy water usage. Now, the author of that same dire warning sounds a little...

At Lake Mead, an Explosive Find
Name Now Attached
to Lake Mead Bones
UPDATED

Name Now Attached to Lake Mead Bones

Remains found in Callville Bay area belong to 1974 drowning victim Donald Smith: officials

(Newser) - Skeletal remains found in Lake Mead in October belong to a Las Vegas man who died almost 50 years ago. Donald Smith, identified through DNA analysis, was 39 when he drowned at the national recreation area in April 1974, Clark County officials say, per KLAS . His bones were found in...

Water Experts Don't See Mead, Powell Refilling

Trends mean Southwest can expect its supply to keep drying up

(Newser) - Despite recent storms to the north and a deep snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, experts are no more encouraged now about the long-term prospects for Southern California's water supply. Lake Powell and Lake Mead remain at low levels after 23 years of drought, the Los Angeles Times reports. "...

Boy Who Visited Lake Mead Dies From Amoeba Infection

Nevada boy developed symptoms a week after exposure to brain-eating amoeba

(Newser) - The CDC has confirmed that an infection of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri killed a Nevada boy who may have been exposed at Lake Mead earlier this month, the Southern Nevada Health District says. The Clark County resident's name and age were not released but the Las Vegas Review-Journal...

Low Water Revealing History in Mississippi River

Remains of a 95-foot vessel emerged near Baton Rouge

(Newser) - A shipwreck has emerged along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as water levels threaten to reach record lows in some areas. The ship, which archaeologists believe to be a ferry that sunk in the late 1800s to early 1900s, was spotted by a Baton Rouge...

Lake Mead Body Is That of Man Presumed Drowned in 2002
Lake Mead Body
Has Been Identified

Lake Mead Body Has Been Identified

Thomas Erndt was presumed drowned 20 years ago

(Newser) - In 2002, a Las Vegas Review-Journal death notice said 42-year-old Las Vegas resident Thomas Erndt "jumped from a boat on Aug, 2 is missing and presumed drowned" and a memorial service was held at a Catholic church a week later. Now, after more than 20 years, his family has...

Colorado River Crisis Spurs Move to 'Tier 2'

A Tier 1 shortage was declared last year

(Newser) - After 22 straight years of drought, the Colorado River's flow is in increasingly bad shape—and two of the seven states that rely on its water are going to have to make more cuts. Last year, a Tier 1 shortage was declared on the river for the first time,...

DNA Could Identify 3 Lake Mead Bodies

There's no sign of foul play in two of the deaths, investigators say

(Newser) - Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse has, unsurprisingly, ruled that the person whose body was found with a gunshot wound in a barrel at the bottom of Lake Mead was a homicide victim. The coroner says her office is trying to extract DNA from the remains, which will be sent to...

More Human Remains Found in Lake Mead
Lake Mead Has Now
Given Up 3 Bodies
UPDATED

Lake Mead Has Now Given Up 3 Bodies

Human remains were reported by a witness Monday

(Newser) - Update: And then there were three. The National Park Service says that on Monday a third set of human remains was found at Lake Mead, which has been revealing what has long slumbered in its waters as drought causes water levels to recede even further. Park rangers say they received...

Grass Is No Longer Welcome in Vegas

Authorities hope a new law will save billions of gallons amid ongoing megadrought

(Newser) - Las Vegas is the proving ground for a new Nevada state law banning “nonfunctional” grass. It is the first law of its kind in the nation, per the New York Times, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority hopes it will save up to 9.5 billion gallons of water...

Kmart Clothes a Clue to Body Found in Barrel at Lake Mead

Police say victim was shot

(Newser) - Update: Police have shared details about the body found inside a barrel that was discovered on the newly exposed bottom of Nevada's Lake Mead, saying the remains belong to a person who'd been shot. Investigators are dating the crime to the late 1970s or early '80s, with...

At Critical Reservoir, a Tangible Sign of Trouble

Intake valve at Lake Mead is fully exposed for first time in its history

(Newser) - Lake Mead has hit a new low. For the first time, water levels at the man-made reservoir have dropped low enough to expose one of three original intake valves, CNN reports. The valve has been drawing water since 1971—but that's no longer possible, according to the Southern Nevada...

Western States Face Federal Water Cuts
Shortage
Means Federal
Water Cuts

Shortage Means Federal Water Cuts

Drought fueled by climate change leads to record low levels in major reservoirs

(Newser) - Officials on Monday are expected to declare the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the American West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought. Water levels at the largest reservoir on the Colorado River—Lake Mead—have fallen to...

Lake Mead at Record Low
 Lake Mead at Record Low 

Lake Mead at Record Low

Reservoir vital to Las Vegas is 37% full

(Newser) - The surface level at Lake Mead has dropped as planned to historic low levels, and federal water managers say the vast Colorado River reservoir is expected to continue to shrink amid ongoing drought. The closely controlled lake shrunk Wednesday to its lowest point since the Hoover Dam was completed in...

Lake Mead Gives Up Its Ghosts as Drought Worsens

Tourism is up at shrinking lake in Nevada

(Newser) - The drought in the West is hurting Nevada's Lake Mead in the most obvious sense—it's shrinking fast. But that problem comes with an upside: Tourism is up as the water recedes and reveals what lies beneath, reports CBS News . The big draw is the ghost town of...

Rescuers Save Pair Trapped by Rattlesnake

Very, very slowly

(Newser) - A strange rescue in Nevada: Authorities guided two cousins around a rattlesnake and out of a mine shaft near Lake Mead after they reported being trapped inside by the snake. The cousins, ages 19 and 12, emerged unhurt after they were instructed to hug an opposite wall to move past...

Islands Appearing in the Southwest—Ominously
Islands Appearing in the Southwest—Ominously
in case you missed it

Islands Appearing in the Southwest—Ominously

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are in rough shape

(Newser) - New islands are being born along the border of Arizona and Utah. That's an ominous thing, reports the Guardian in a look at Lake Powell, the country's second-biggest reservoir. Due to dwindling snow falls in the Rockies—which has spurred a crisis for the Colorado River, which feeds...

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