A California lake that hasn’t been seen in nearly 130 years has suddenly reemerged, and it’s swallowing up land at an alarming rate.
Tulare Lake in California’s San Joaquin Valley began to dry up in the late 1850s — through deliberate action taken to reshape the land at the expense of the existing ecosystem and nearby indigenous communities.
It vanished altogether around 1890.
But this infamous “ghost lake” that disappeared in the 19th century is making its grand return after 130 years, swallowing up 94,000 acres and counting of private farmland.
According to The New York Post, it’s now the largest body of freshwater west of the Mississippi River.
“Tulare Lake was the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River. It’s really difficult to imagine that now,” said Vivian Underhill, a researcher formerly at Northeastern University studying the phenomenon.
While it has come at the expense of fertile farmland, the lake’s return has already started to revitalize the once-lost ecosystem in the valley. Ducks and other waterfowl have flocked to the lake’s shores for the first time in years and frogs have even started to make themselves at home on the edge.
“Once, there was so much water that a steamship could carry agricultural supplies from the Bakersfield area up to Fresno and then up to San Francisco,” Underhill said.
The lake’s return raised concerns in the community as the water continues to rise, submerging not only the privately owned land but entire storage sheds containing materials harmful to the reviving ecosystem, like fertilizer, manure, and even electrical wires.
While it has made a glorious return, this is also the fifth time Tulare Lake has cropped back up since 1890.
The draining and flooding pattern appears to be cyclical and could mean that it’s bound to disappear again soon.