Dry and Dying: Images of Drought

By Stephanie Pappas
published

Somalia Drought

Dead livestock in Somalia drought.

(Image credit: Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) )

Dead livestock are scattered on the ground in drought-ridden Somalia in this 2006 photograph.

Drought in Kansas

Drought on the Arkansas River in Kansas.

(Image credit: Nathan Sullivan, USGS )

Drought conditions on the Arkansas River at Great Bend, Kansas in July 2012.

Dried-Up Lake

Dried up Lake Hartwell.

(Image credit: Carol J. VanDyke, USGS )

Drought effects Lake Hartwell, South Carolina.

Drought-Striken Longhorn

A skinny longhorn in west Texas drought.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

A scrawny Longhorn in Big Bend Ranch State Park, West Texas. Lower-than-usual levels of vegetation have left both livestock and wildlife struggling to find food. [Read Full Story]

Dried Lakebed

Lake Travis near Austin, Texas, during drought.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Lake Travis, near Austin, Tex., at 46.5 feet (14 meters) lower than usual.

Uncovered Treasures

Cell phones from the bottom of Lake Travis.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Lost a cell phone? As Lake Travis dried, the receding waters revealed gadgets dropped by boaters.

Blood-Red Lake

OC Fisher Reservoir in Texas turned red in the drought.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

As water levels dropped in OC Fischer Reservoir west of San Angelo, Tex., bacteria took over the stagnant, low-oxygen water. These bacteria turned the lake the color of blood. Dead fish, unable to survive without oxygen, float in the blood-red lake.

Cracked Earth

Drought conditions in Buescher State Park, Texas.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Dried ground in Buescher State Park near Smithville, Tex.

Before and After

Lake Texana before and after the 2011 Texas drought.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Lake Texana between Houston and Corpus Christi. Above, normal conditions. Below, drought conditions.

Dead Fish in Texas

Dead fish at O.C. Fisher

(Image credit: Travis Dowell, U.S. Geological Survey )

O.C. Fisher Reservoir near San Angelo, Texas has experienced major drought in recent years, as this 2011 photograph of dried-up fish reveals.

Dried Fish

OC Fisher Reservoir in Texas turned red in the drought.

(Image credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Sun-bleached fish scattered along the edges of O.C. Fischer Reservoir. [Read Full Story]

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.