A graveyard of forgotten watercraft: Withering drought shows Lake Mead boat

 

Photo Credit: AP.

A Lake Mead boat has been discovered at the site of a withering drought that has become a graveyard of forgotten watercraft, according to photos taken by The Associated Press. An abandoned old power boat juts upright from the cracked mud like a giant tombstone, The Associated Press reported.

Up to 40 million people in seven states depend on this reservoir and severe drought has turned things really bad for the Colorado River. Climate is a factor and the wildfire season often accompanied by intense scorching temperatures has made things even worse.

The Associated Press reported that receding waters of Lake Mead National Recreation Area have revealed the skeletal remains of two people along with countless desiccated fish and what has become a graveyard of forgotten and stranded watercraft.

Houseboats, sailboats and motorboats have been beached in the desert landscape. A buoy that once marked a no-boat zone sits in the dirt without any drop of water sighted.

The reservoir is now below 30 percent of capacity and its level has dropped 170 feet (52 meters) since reaching a high-water mark in 1983, according to The Associated Press.

Photo Credit: AP.

The dropping water levels is particularly troubling because a number of cities depend on the future source of water for boaters who have to navigate shallow waters and avoid islands and sandbars that lurk below the surface before emerging.

According to The Associated Press, Craig Miller was motoring around on his houseboat last month when the engine died and he floated to shore. The knee deep water where his boat came to a rest was gone just within days.

“It’s amazing how fast the water went down,” Miller said. “I was landlocked.”

Miller bought pumps and tried to dredge the sand around the boat to create a channel to the water but couldn’t stay ahead of the receding waters.