California's 'phantom lake' returns with a vengeance (Los Angeles, San Francisco: construction, shop)

[SFX]

[SFX]

In a good news/bad news sort of way, the floodgates are wide open

Shasta and Oroville, the two largest California reservoirs, are already too full for the wet season.

Except for San Luis, all reservoirs are above average already. With a foot of rain expected, and 10 or more feet of snow, the permanent drought is in full swing again.

[SFX]

While we still can't see much, this image shows the storm, and you can see the massive amount of snow already further east

When the clouds clear, it's going to be interesting

[SFX]

Originally Posted by dustin183

Not all human engineering... but certainly some. More so in heavily forested states where they cut down these native forests to put up another Walmart. Happening all over the midwest.

I think of Illinois, which used to be mostly forests. All that flat farmland was once trees. Then I consider how different the climate was, considering all the creeks were full of beavers, which created meadows around the beaver ponds.

Same for California. Beavers everywhere. Wetlands, the central valley was wet, green and full of wildlife.

[SFX]

Originally Posted by recycled

After the great west coast flood of Nov. 1861-Jan. 1862, not only was Tulare Lake completely full, but the entire San Joaquin valley was a great inland sea almost the size of Lake Superior. One of the reasons that the central valley of CA is one of the best farming regions on the planet is because it historically was a great flood plain that left deep, rich soil and minerals.

And lots and lots of underground water.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by SFX

I think of Illinois, which used to be mostly forests. All that flat farmland was once trees. Then I consider how different the climate was, considering all the creeks were full of beavers, which created meadows around the beaver ponds.

Same for California. Beavers everywhere. Wetlands, the central valley was wet, green and full of wildlife.

A lot of Illinois was tallgrass prairie when Europeans first arrived, kept open in part by frequent native american burning.

In the Central Valley of California, there was a lot of wetland and floodplain forest, but a lot of it was bunch grass grassland.

[SFX]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

A lot of Illinois was tallgrass prairie when Europeans first arrived, kept open in part by frequent native american burning.

Was that to have Buffalo pastures? Do you know how much of the land was free of forests?

[SFX]

Originally Posted by SFX

With a possible wet winter coming up, this topic might go on for many years.

I guess I should have said, "I might post about it for years"

[SFX]

If you think the lake is gone, because of how it looks in March 2024

Just remember it looked like this in March 2023

A month later, in April 2023, it looked like this

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by SFX

If you think the lake is gone, because of how it looks in March 2024

Just remember it looked like this in March 2023

A month later, in April 2023, it looked like this

Those images are so blurry I can't make heads or tails out of them.