Photos: Central Valley lake refills after spending more than a century dried up - The Mercury News

Photos: Central Valley lake refills after spending more than a century dried up

Tulare Lake was once the largest lake West of the Mississippi before farmers in the 1920s diverted the rivers that filled it to nourish crops. But after a winter of heavy rain and flooding in the Tulare Basin, the lake is once again filling up.

NASA satellites captured the progression of rising water in the 10-million-acre lake returning back to life.

Here is some drone footage from a very windy Tuesday evening out over Tulare Lake.
#tularelake #dronephotography #dronevideo #stratford pic.twitter.com/dlEylqO4mK

— Mike Mendoza (@DayTrippinMike)
May 10, 2023

Flood fears are still high for the Tulare Lake Basin and Southern San Joaquin Valley as the melting of the massive Sierra Nevada snowpack accelerates with the approach of summer.

Dry for nearly a century; this CA basin is filling up. The seasonal lake dried in the early 1900s & was converted into cropland. After a torrent of winter storms,
#Landsat imagery shows Tulare Basin’s lake reappearing. #ImageOfTheWeek. https://t.co/VrfClHQUaV pic.twitter.com/6XcFOKwXAf

— USGS EROS (@USGS_EROS)
May 10, 2023