Landsat & Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Satellites Tracking Water Below and Above the Earth’s Surface

Lake Sawa is one of the unique lakes in the world. It is a small lake located in the desert and sits at a higher elevation than the land that surrounds it. Over thousands of years it has never dried up. The water is extremely salty and therefore, almost no marine life exists in the water. The lake is surrounded by naturally occurring ridges or walls that are composed of gypsum and act to retain the water in the lake. Recent satellite images show the lake has decreased in size.