Geography Of The World
The Driest Mountain In The United States
White Mountain Peak in eastern California rises to 14,246 feet, yet the Sierra Nevada rain shadow leaves its high slopes with relatively little precipitation.
Why Parts Of The Rio Grande Are Drying Up
Only about 5% of its natural flow remains in parts of West Texas. See what is really draining the Rio Grande, and what it would take to bring it back.
What Happens If Lake Powell Hits Dead Pool Before Lake Mead
Lake Mead is eight feet closer to dead pool than Lake Powell. It barely matters, because Powell’s outflow is Mead’s inflow and only one order takes the system down.
The Most Snake Infested Rivers In Oregon
Oregon's Columbia, Rogue, Deschutes, and Snake rivers support garter snakes, kingsnakes, rubber boas, and western rattlesnakes along their banks and canyons.
Where Alligators And Water Moccasins Overlap
The cottonmouth range effectively contains the alligator range. Where the two meet, who eats whom, and the twelve months when it reverses.
What Lies At The Bottom Of Lake Mead
As Lake Mead sinks toward record lows in Nevada, its exposed floor is giving up a sunken B-29 bomber, a drowned Mormon town, and bodies in barrels.
Why The Columbia River Has No Delta
The Columbia pours more water into the Pacific than any river in the Americas, yet builds no delta at its mouth. Here’s where all that sand actually ends up.
How Fast A Great Lakes Freighter Can Go
Most Great Lakes freighters top out near 18 mph. Here’s how river speed limits, current, and ice decide how fast a laker really moves.
The Largest Spring-Fed Rivers In America
Groundwater feeds America’s largest spring-fed rivers, sustaining clear, cold flow year-round across Oregon, California, the Ozarks, and Florida
How Big The Great Lakes Are Compared To The United Kingdom
The Great Lakes are 0.66 percent larger than the United Kingdom. Lake Superior beats Scotland, Erie beats Wales, and poured over the UK the water reaches Big Ben.
The US Rivers Where Piranhas Have Been Caught
The US Rivers Where Piranhas Have Been Caught include the Mississippi and a North Platte creek, yet these aquarium pets have never formed a wild population.
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.