Lake Mead by abirkill

Lake Mead

Lake Mead is retained by Hoover Dam, just out of shot to the left. This is taken from the Arizona side of the dam. The two towers are two of the four intake towers, which control water flow to the power turbines.

As this was pretty much the only day on my journey that was overcast and rainy, a monochrome conversion seemed to work quite well here.

Best viewed large!
Jim
Great b/w conversion. Teh contrast and details are great. I really like the ripples in the water
July 20th, 2012  
Beautiful!
July 20th, 2012  
Saw this on the B&W thread. Awesome shot. Fave. The lake looks really low.
July 20th, 2012  
I adore your style, the layering and the details inspite that it is a landscape shoot.
July 20th, 2012  
Wonderful textures in this dramatic shot!
July 21st, 2012  
@webfoot It is. The lake is currently below the 'drought' level, at 1,115 feet above sea level. The average level of the lake is 1,173 feet above sea level.

The combination of low snowfall through the mountains over the last 10 years, and a dramatic increase in water demands in California and Nevada (Las Vegas has grown from 25,000 residents in 1950 to 2 million today) has had this effect. It reached a record low in November 2010 at 1,081 feet above sea level. An increase in rainfall in 2011 did help, but the level is still very low, as can be seen.

Should the water level fall below 1,050 feet, the power plant will no longer be able to operate. Some research indicates this could happen as early as 2017, although it's likely rationing would be enforced to reduce the likelihood of this.
July 21st, 2012  
Fantastic shot. I would love to go back to see the Hoover Dam sometime.
July 21st, 2012  
Love the textures in the rocks. This reminds of how low Lake Powell was when we last visited the States.
July 21st, 2012  
Wow this is really beautiful. Amazing b&w! I loved your post about mass in the cameras-on-the-moon discussion :)
July 21st, 2012  
fav! this is absolutely gorgeous. fantastic capture. all of your pictures are absolutely wonderful
July 27th, 2012  
really stunningly gorgeous!
July 28th, 2012  
Beautiful image. I've been there but your photo makes it look so much better than I remember.
July 31st, 2012  
Magnificent capture! Love how you edited it.
August 10th, 2012  
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