Geography Of The World
What Lies At The Bottom Of Lake Powell
Beneath Lake Powell lies drowned Glen Canyon: a sunken gold dredge, the lost town of Hite, and Indigenous sites resurfacing as the water drops.
The American Mountains With The Most Timber Rattlesnakes
Timber rattlesnakes den on five mountains in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, including Overlook Mountain in the Catskills and Hawk Mountain.
Why Arizona Loses Its Colorado River Water Before California Does
Arizona is taking a 512,000 acre-foot cut and California is taking none. The reason is a condition Congress attached to the Central Arizona Project in 1968.
The Mountains That Make Their Own Weather
Mountains such as Mount Rainier and Mount Denali reveal how towering peaks create their own clouds, fierce winds, and sudden storms.
The US Reservoirs Holding The Least Water Right Now
After a record-hot spring and a thin snowpack, some of the biggest US reservoirs sit near 5% full. See the 15 emptiest, plus Lake Mead’s new all-time low.
How Much A Great Lakes Freighter Weighs Fully Loaded
A loaded Great Lakes freighter can top 90,000 tons. How ship, ore, fuel, and ballast add up, and why a few inches of water can leave tons of cargo ashore.
8 Snake Infested State Parks In The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes have two rattlesnake species across eight states, and Michigan logs about sixteen bites a year. The eight parks with the most snakes, and why infested is the wrong word.
The Deepest A Fish Has Ever Been Caught In A US Lake
Lake Superior's siscowet lake trout survive at the very bottom of the lake, where researchers are tracking a growing number of emaciated zombie fish.
Which State Uses The Most Water
Which State Uses The Most Water? California leads by a wide margin, while Texas, Idaho, and Florida round out the top four for very different reasons.
The American Mountains With Old-Growth Forest
Old-growth forest takes hundreds of years to grow, yet can be cut down in an instant. Here are the American mountains where you can still find those forests.
The Highest Mountain In America You Can Drive To The Top Of
Colorado's Mount Blue Sky is the highest US mountain you can drive up, via a byway that tops out at 14,130 feet. Here is the road, the rename, and what to see
Where San Diego Would Get Water If The Colorado Failed
If the Colorado River stopped delivering, San Diego wouldn’t go dry overnight. Here’s where the region’s water would come from and how long it could last.
What Happens To Phoenix If Lake Mead Hits Dead Pool
If Lake Mead hits dead pool, Phoenix loses its Colorado River water, but the taps won’t run dry. Why the Salt and Verde rivers and banked groundwater save the city.
The American Mountains With The Most Wolves
Wolves live in Alaska's ranges, the Northern Rockies, Colorado, the Cascades, and the Sierra Nevada, and recent state counts show recovery remains uneven.
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In Texas
Texas rivers where snakes are most at home, from the Brazos and Trinity to the Sabine, Neches and Guadalupe, plus the rare Concho water snake.
How Far Up The Mississippi Alligators Have Been Found
TWRA filmed a seven-foot alligator in West Tennessee and says they arrived on their own. How far up the Mississippi alligators have been found, and where the pets start.
How Many Islands Are In The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes hold about 35,000 islands, most of them in Lake Huron, from Manitoulin, the largest freshwater-lake island, to Isle Royale and the Apostles.
The Rivers Where Muskie Grow Largest
Muskie rivers in New York, West Virginia, and Virginia have produced huge fish, including a verified 51-pound catch from the Little Kanawha River in 2022.
How Many Cities Get Their Water From Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan supplies drinking water to more than 200 communities across Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, with Chicago alone serving 120 suburbs.
The Largest Underwater Volcano In American Waters
Pūhāhonu in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a shield volcano roughly twice the size of Mauna Loa, though almost all of its bulk lies hidden underwater.
What Lies At The Bottom Of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe's lakebed on the California-Nevada border contains shipwrecks like the SS Tahoe, ancient landslide deposits, and life adapted to cold, dark water.
What Happens To The Imperial Valley If Lake Mead Hits Dead Pool
The Imperial Valley holds the most senior rights on the Colorado River. At dead pool that is worth nothing, because seniority allocates water and dead pool decides whether any exists.
The States Where A Water Right Can Be Sold Separately From The Land
The States Where A Water Right Can Be Sold Separately From The Land include Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, where owners can sell water and keep the dry acres.
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In New Mexico
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In New Mexico are the Gila, Rio Grande, and Pecos, home to rare garter snakes, watersnakes, and the rattlers on their banks.
How California Accidentally Created The Salton Sea
In 1905, a botched Colorado River diversion flooded a desert basin below sea level and accidentally created the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake.
The Last Ferries Still Crossing The Mississippi River
Where no bridge spans the Mississippi, ferries still cross it, from Lansing’s temporary construction boat to the New Orleans Algiers run. Meet the survivors.
Is the Mississippi River Longer than the Missouri River?
The Mississippi is longer by official length, but measured from its Red Rock River headwaters in Montana, the Missouri River runs about 2,540 miles and wins.
How Many Freighters Still Sail The Great Lakes
Only about 100 lake freighters still work the Great Lakes, yet they haul tens of millions of tons a year. How big the fleet really is, and when it sits idle.
How Lake Michigan Holds More Water Than The Entire Colorado River Carries In A Century
Lake Michigan holds 273 years of the Colorado River. Even Lake Erie holds 27. The headline is true and roughly three times too modest.
The Largest Shipwreck In US Waters
The 911-foot USS Oriskany, sunk off Pensacola in 2006, is the largest ship ever turned into an artificial reef. Divers can still reach its upper decks.
Lake Mead Lost 192 Feet, Lake Powell Lost 179
Two reservoirs 300 miles apart on the same river have shed the same amount of water. What separates them is what each has left.
Why Hoover Dam’s Concrete Is Still Getting Stronger 90 Years Later
Hoover Dam’s concrete has kept getting stronger for 90 years. Inside the cement chemistry, the river rock, and the hidden pipes behind its staying power.
Where Water Snakes Go When Lakes Freeze
Where northern water snakes go when lakes freeze, from muskrat burrows to dens 1,900 feet inland, and how they return to shore each spring.
The Largest Water Towers In The United States
The largest US water towers by capacity, led by a 4.1-million-gallon Pennsylvania tank and 4-million-gallon towers in Iowa and Arkansas, were built for outages.
The Warmest River In The United States
The Warmest River In The United States is Yellowstone’s Firehole, heated by geysers, while the Rainbow and Rio Grande run warm for other reasons.
How Lake Winnipeg Compares To The Great Lakes
Lake Winnipeg is 29 percent bigger than Lake Ontario and holds a sixth as much water. But it drains more land than all five Great Lakes combined.
The Ferries That Still Carry Cars Across The Great Lakes
From the coal-fired S.S. Badger to icebreaking island runs, these car ferries still haul vehicles across Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Superior.
Which US State Has The Most Fresh Water?
Michigan holds the most freshwater of any US state, about 2,590 cubic miles, more than the other forty-nine states combined thanks to the Great Lakes.
The American Rivers With The Most Alligator Gar
Seven rivers from Texas to Alabama hold America's biggest alligator gar, including the Trinity, Rio Grande, and Mississippi, home of the 327-pound record.
What Happens If Navajo Reservoir Is Drained To Save Lake Powell
It has already been tried. Reclamation named three reservoirs for emergency releases to Lake Powell and took 94 percent from the one in Wyoming. Why Navajo was passed over.