Monday, September 29, 2008

Mountain Lake Dries Up

Several months ago, I blogged about Mountain Lake in Giles County. Perhaps you remember the slide show I placed on this blog showing the last little bit of water in the lake. Our interest in the resort was sparked even more the weekend before last when the newsroom phone rang and a viewer told us skeletal remains were found on the dried out lake bed. The following day, NEWS7 photojournalists traveled up Route 700 just outside of Newport to report on the story. They brought back unbelievable video of the lake bed. I was shocked, and saddened, by what I saw. As a Giles County native, and former Mountain Lake Hotel employee, it's hard to imagine the lake completely gone. My dad and I drove up last week to see it for ourselves. I couldn't believe my eyes. Completely gone!

Today, the weather department received an email from a viewer. Her name was Brenda from Blacksburg. She copied a link to us from photographer Richard Cobb. Mr. Cobb has done an *amazing* job matching up "bank full" photos of Mountain Lake to the now empty basin. These pictures really help you grasp the magnitude of the situation. Just click on the link below and make sure javascript is enabled on your computer. Simply drag your mouse on and off of the pictures to see the before/after shots. Thanks again Brenda for passing this along. And special thanks to Richard Cobb.

http://www.sivtac.org/mtlake/beforeafter.php

No comments: