| STS-058 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights |
| TOP PICKS |
| Click here to view the complete online collection of astronaut photography of Earth >> |
| STS058-85-74 |
 STS058-85-74 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record. |
| Klamath Basin, California-Oregon: The Klamath Basin, on the
California-Oregon border, has recently been in the news because of
water shortages due to the ongoing drought in the United States'
Pacific Northwest. Diverse interest groups have come into conflict
over the limited availability of Klamath Project water this year. In
order to protect endangered Sucker Fish and threatened Coho Salmon in
Upper Klamath Lake, the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation cut off the flow
of irrigation water to farmers in the project in April 2001. This
action was supported by environmental groups, as well as commercial
fisherman and Indian tribes that depend on Chinook Salmon. However,
it also meant devastating losses for the farmers who require
irrigation water from the Klamath Project, and potential adverse
effects on wetland birds that rely on the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake
marshes. Protests and civil disobedience by local farmers have
focused on the project headgates at the south end of Upper Klamath
Lake in the town of Klamath Falls. Citing a minor rise in the waters
in Upper Klamath Lake, the Department of the Interior announced on
July 25, 2001, that some water would be released to farmers. This image shows the Klamath Basin in October 1993, as photographed by astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle. This year featured relatively normal conditions, although it followed immediately after a series of drought years. The larger square areas represent management units on the wildlife refuges; darker areas in the units are flooded. The smaller square areas are fields of irrigated agriculture. |
| < Back |
|
This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
||||
 |
|
|
 |
|