Drought-Striken Longhorn
A scrawny Longhorn in Big Bend Ranch State Park, West Texas. Lower-than-usual levels of vegetation have left both livestock and wildlife struggling to find food. [Read Full Story]
Dried Lakebed
Lake Travis, near Austin, Tex., at 46.5 feet (14 meters) lower than usual.
Uncovered Treasures
Lost a cell phone? As Lake Travis dried, the receding waters revealed gadgets dropped by boaters.
Blood-Red Lake
As water levels dropped in OC Fischer Reservoir west of San Angelo, Tex., bacteria took over the stagnant, low-oxygen water. These bacteria turned the lake the color of blood. Dead fish, unable to survive without oxygen, float in the blood-red lake.
Dwindling Lake
Little is left of the O.C. Fischer reservoir, which once has a maximum depth of 58 feet (17.6 m).
Fish Die-off
Dead fish dot the remains of blood-red O.C. Fischer Reservoir.
Belly-up
A dead fish floats in O.C. Fischer Reservoir. Without enough oxygen in the water, the fish could not survive.
Cracked Earth
Dried ground in Buescher State Park near Smithville, Tex.
Before and After
Lake Texana between Houston and Corpus Christi. Above, normal conditions. Below, drought conditions.
Dead Cow
The carcass of a cow that became mired in the mud in a dry stock tank in Knox County, Texas during the summer drought.
Bastrop Fire
The sky stained red over the Bastrop fire, which burned more than 34,000 acres in September 2011.
