Geography Of The World
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.
The Tallest Dam Spillway In America
The Tallest Dam Spillway In America belongs to Oroville Dam, whose concrete chute nearly failed under heavy flows and was rebuilt to handle future floods.
The US Lakes Behind America’s White Bass Records
The lakes where white bass grow largest, from Virginia’s world-record Lake Orange to Michigan’s Saginaw Bay, Table Rock, Lake Lanier, and Devils Lake.
Why Great Lakes Freighters Unload Themselves
A steel arm swings over the dock and thousands of tons of ore pour ashore with no crane in sight. How the biggest Great Lakes ships empty themselves.
How Salty The Ocean Really Is
How Salty The Ocean Really Is. The Chesapeake Bay runs nearly fresh at its northern head, while the Laguna Madre in Texas is far saltier than the open sea.
What Happens To Las Vegas If Hoover Dam Goes Dark
Las Vegas would lose about four percent of its electricity and keep every drop of its water. Why the city does not actually run on Hoover Dam
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In Nevada
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In Nevada include the Truckee, Carson, Humboldt, and Colorado, where garter snakes, gopher snakes, and rattlesnakes find water.
The Day Oroville Dam's Spillway Collapsed
The Day Oroville Dam's Spillway Collapsed. A slab tore loose at the tallest US dam, water topped an untested hillside, and a billion-dollar rebuild followed.
What Happens To The Grand Canyon When Lake Powell Dies
The Grand Canyon does not wait for Lake Powell to die. It feels the decline first, and the tools for managing it stop working before the reservoir does.
The American Mountains You Can Reach By Gondola
The American Mountains You Can Reach By Gondola. Ride to Mammoth's volcanic summit, play disc golf atop Aspen Mountain, or dine facing Mount Rainier.