Texas Drought Has a Small Upside

There is no question that the drought in most of Texas is about as severe as it gets.  Starting even in 2009, the 2011 situation is claimed to be the driest since records have been kept (since 1895).  Moreover, it has also been compared to treering data from 1550 , and still ranks right up there.  Now, that's DRY!  As a result, water supplies have been stretched pretty far - especially surface water impoundments of all kinds.

A recent article in the New York Times by Manny Fernandez was an interesting read on some of the things that have been showing up as the lake levels plummet.  Included are:  a 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with the deceased driver still buckled in (missing since July, 2008); a cryogenic tank from the 2003 reentry disaster of the space shuttle Columbia; an 1882 grave marker for a 1 year old infant; a skull from a very old indian male; and some 200 additional archeological sites of various descriptions.

I guess if there is any upside of severe drought, it may be the extra knowledge obtained from checking in on all the foreign and lost items that are in the bottoms of their lakes and rivers that shouldn't be there.  Let's hope the rains return and these hearty folks get back to normal as soon as possible.  The only thing we know for sure is that in another couple of hundred years they'll have another look-see opportunity.