The Recovery of California’s Biggest Reservoir, as Seen by Satellite

Last December, any swimmer attempting to blindly jump into Lake Shasta—the biggest reservoir in California—would tumble, Homer Simpson cliff-jump style, down a barren, bruising drop. Water levels in the lake had fallen to more than 100 feet below their historic averages but, thanks to recent rains, they’re doing remarkably better today.

Evidence comes from a series of NASA images made with USGS Landsat data, documenting a year in Shasta’s journey from dusty decrepitude to water-plump health. They begin on April 13, 2015, when the lake surface was at a low 995 feet, exposing hundreds of miles of new, tan-colored beach: