USA and Canada - September 18th, 2010
Devils Lake, North Dakota
Several lakes can be observed in this image of the area around the border between the US state of North Dakota (below) and the Canadian province of Manitoba (above). The large, golden green body of water at the top is the southern part of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The close-up, on the other hand, focuses on Devils Lake in North Dakota. This large lake has been expanding steadily since the 1990s, and has nearly quadrupled in size. The result of its fast growth is that thousands of acres of land, hundreds of buildings and homes, and at least two towns have become completely inundated.
Devils Lake continues growing because it has no natural river or stream as an outlet to carry away excess rain and water from melting snow. At the moment, it has risen to within 6 feet of overflowing. If the water level cannot be lowered, residents fear that more communities will be washed away.