ESA image: Las Vegas and Lake Mead

This image from the Landsat-8 satellite acquired on 23 September 2014 brings us over the southwest United States: Nevada and Arizona.

Unaweep Canyon and Earth's deep-time past

Unaweep Canyon is a puzzling landscape—the only canyon on Earth with two mouths. First formally documented by western explorers mapping the Colorado Territory in the 1800s, Unaweep Canyon has inspired numerous hypotheses ...

US mega drought makes boating rough on Lake Mead

In the 15 years since Adam Dailey began boating on Lake Mead, the shoreline has receded hundreds of meters, the result of more than two decades of punishing drought that is drying out the western United States.

The history of Lake Cahuilla before the Salton Sea

Today, the Salton Sea is an eerie place. Its mirror-like surface belies the toxic stew within. Fish skeletons line its shores and the ruins of a once thriving vacation playground is a reminder of better days. But long before ...

America's new wonder: a record-breaking bridge

America's greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a soaring companion piece, a massive looming bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere.

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