Underwater forest shows Fallen Leaf Lake once suffered from 'megadrought'
By Jeff DeLong
Reno Gazette Journal Sep 9, 2012 
Photo Credit: Dr. Graham Kent of UNR.
As Nevada and much of the country struggles with the effects of one of the worst drought years in recent memory, scientists continue studies of a Sierra drought they say likely dwarfed any event of modern times. Research is focused on Fallen Leaf Lake, a stunning Sierra lake that lies beneath the soaring heights of Mount Tallac, not far from the shores of Lake Tahoe. There, scientists examined stands of trees rooted more than 100 feet beneath the current surface of the lake - evidence that a drought serious enough to drop lake levels by that amount and long enough to allow mature trees to grow occurred during Medieval times or earlier.Read the story. |
