The bathtub ring, which now hovers 186 feet (57 meters) above the surface of the water is a vivid illustration of the reality of a changing climate."It's truly striking; it really makes you wonder," Osterero, who had travelled from France with her husband, told AFP."In the few days we've been here, it's become clear that you can see the effects of climate change with the naked eye." The receding waters are revealing boat wrecks and occasional human remains -- including a suspected victim of the Las Vegas mob -- but also a threat to the very foundations of the American West.
Boat operator Brian Essex navigates his boat on Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP
To build cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix in this desert region, the United States developed a vast system drawing from the Colorado River, which rises in the Rocky Mountains and winds its way to the sea in Mexico.The river supplies water to more than 40 million Americans across seven states. Along the way it is stoppered by the two massive dams 300 miles (480 kilometers) apart that created Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which store the snowmelt-fed river water for year-round distribution, and whose huge turbines generate electricity for hundreds of thousands of households.- Crisis - But the Colorado River is in trouble.Way back in 1922, the interstate treaty governing its use allocated more water every year than the river can give.Now human-caused global warming, which alters rainfall patterns and makes hot periods longer and drier while unleashing powerful storms elsewhere on the planet, is exacerbating this problem.In the blistering heat of 2026, where climate records are tumbling all over the world, the river is under attack on two fronts, said David Kreamer, a hydrology professor at the University of Las Vegas.
