Impact of Drought at Lake Oroville, California

November 29, 2015

Lake OrovilleDSC_0486

Photographer: Bachir Badaoui
Summary Authors: Bachir Badaoui; Jim Foster

On the photo above the water level of Lake Oroville, in Northern California, used to be up to the treeline in the background and near the stump in the foreground. Over four years of drought have dramatically reduced the State's available water supply. Though, the water outlook is more positive now than when this photo was snapped (May 31, 2015), water levels in Lake Oroville, California's second largest reservoir, as well as in most other lakes in California are still down significantly. In fact, monthly runoff in California will likely be lower in 2015 than in 2014, one of the lowest runoff years on record. Across much of California, the drought continues to be exceptional.
 
Photo Details: Camera Model: NIKON D7100; Exposure Time: 1/200 second; Lens F-Number: ƒ/7.1; ISO Speed: 100; Focal Length: 27 mm.