Full

Washoe Lake on the first of May this year. This is the first time in the 30-odd years we've lived here that the lake has been brimful at the start of the season 3 seasons running. We're not complaining! The insets show slightly different views in the vicinity. By now (late July) the lake has dropped about a foot (30 cm) from this level, but is still extraordinarily full by recent historical standards. Washoe Lake is natural and fills a shallow basin in the middle of the valley, so its level is highly dependent on the winter snowpack. It had dried up completely a few years ago. The flooded tree is a Great Basin cottonwood (Populus fremontii).