Owens Lake

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/owens-lake

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Owens Lake?Approximately 108 square miles (280 sq km) when full
2. What is the location?Owens Valley, eastern Sierra Nevada, Inyo County, California
3. What is the primary water source?Owens River and its tributaries
4. What happened to Owens Lake?Owens Lake dried up when water from the Owens River was taken to supply Los Angeles. The lake shrank to a very small area by 1926.
5. Why does Owens Lake create dust?The lakebed is made of fine salty soil that wind can pick up. When the water is gone, the soil turns into dust that spreads far away.

Hydrological Transformation: Significant changes to the water systems and flow of an area due to human intervention.
Particulate Matter: Microscopic solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere, often harmful to health.
Environmental Remediation: The process of cleaning up or restoring a polluted or damaged environment.
Saline Lake: A lake that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts.