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AR15.COM
11/29/2010 6:39:46 PM EDT





















































 
11/29/2010 6:51:49 PM EDT
[#1]
OK I'll bite. What happened to all the water in the lake?

never mind.

Optima Lake is a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The lake is located near the towns of Hardesty and Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The lake has never reached more than 5 percent of its design capacity[1], and now is effectively empty. Rapid declines in streamflow (related to large-scale pumping from the High Plains Aquifer) coincided with the completion of dam construction[1] to make this lake a dramatic example of unanticipated environmental impacts.

The US Army Corps of Engineers states (emphasis added):

Visitors should be aware that the lake's level can be very low. Depending on rainfall and evaporation rates, the lake may offer no water-based recreation and may not be suitable for swimming, fishing, boating or other activities.[2]


Nice pics....
11/29/2010 7:01:32 PM EDT
[#2]
Copy and pasted the image codes, but forgot the text. Sorry about that.



But yeah, that about sums it up. Construction started in the 30's, put on hiatus during WWII, and then completely abandoned in the 60's.
11/29/2010 7:10:16 PM EDT
[#3]
Nice, now go back out there in early morning or early evening and get some "magic hour" pics!