L13 GeoJournal

Personal Examples of Climate Change

 

 

I couldn’tĀ find any scientific article or news journal about it, but one of my favorite places growing up was Panguitch Lake, UT. It’s about midway between where I currently live and where I used to live. I would go there all the time for family vacation. Over time, you could tell the water level of the lake was just getting lower and lower. When I was a kid, the lake was full and the areas around it were green and luscious. This last year I went there, it just wasn’t the same. The recent Brian Head fire didn’t help at all with helicopters using the lake as a water source to put out the flames, but the lake has been precipitating a lot more than it has been gaining. The increase in temperature is drying up the lake.

In the picture, you can see a more luscious green on the west side of the lake. When I was a kid, that was all covered with lake water with rather large outlet and inlet creeks. You can see where the water is now. Like I said, I don’t have the data, but from observation alone, this lake has taken on significant changes over the past couple decades due to climate changes.

 

(Sorry if you can’t see the picture. It’s there but your computer might be blocking it because my SSL hasn’t been updated — at least, that’s the only reason I can think of.)