Strange scenes inside a Desert
The Mojave Desert is the hottest and driest on the continent,
but it still holds a unique mosaic of native plant life.
While the blistering heat sends people flocking to the cool waters
of Lake Mead, the plants just sit there ... and take it.
In some years, mild rains dampen the desert during fall and winter
months, and heavy downpours deluge the Mojave during summer monsoons.
Surface drainage from the Las Vegas Valley flows to Lake Mead through
several narrow streams called "washes." Gypsum Wash is located near
the shores of Lake Mead, west of Callville Bay.
Severe thunderstorms in September 1998 resulted in a peak (water) discharge at Gypsum Wash of 17,000 cubic feet per second.
Some scientists believe that if periods of drought continue, Lake Mead
will completely "dry up" by the year 2021.
March 3, 2008