Lake Mead's low water level has exposed sunken boats and human remains — and now rocks laced with volcanic ash that rained down 12 million years ago.
Lake Mead's falling water level has exposed several shocking things in recent months — previously sunken boats, old war ships and human remains. Now scientists are reporting a new discovery on Lake Mead's dry bed: Rocks laced with volcanic ash that rained down on what is now southern Nevada during explosive eruptions roughly 12 million years ago.
The West's climate-change-fueled drought and overuse of the Colorado River's water has pushed Lake Mead levels to unprecedented lows. As of September, the lake's water level was just 1,045 feet above sea level, or around 27% of full capacity. They found evidence of several volcanic blasts millions of years ago from places like the Snake River Plain-Yellowstone area — a tract of inactive volcanoes that stretches across Idaho along the Snake River and into what is now Yellowstone National Park — and eastern California. They also found ash from eruptions only 32,000 years ago, not so long ago in the geological time scale.
Ash from even moderately explosive volcanic eruptions can travel hundreds of miles, blanketing areas as far away as several meters with heavy material.
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