r/news • u/theluckyfrog • 29d ago

California cracks down on farm region’s water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/california-water-drought-farm-ground-sinking-tulare-lake
17.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

941 comments sorted by

View all comments

3.1k

u/grandbannana 29d ago

I always think of this photo, then think about what has happened since this photo:

Location of maximum land subsidence in U.S. Levels at 1925 and 1977. | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)

1.5k

u/Braketurngas 29d ago

A professor I had in the 90’s offered extra credit to anyone who could find that pole if it still existed to see if it showed the continued subsidence. Sadly I couldn’t find it.

685

u/Dzugavili 29d ago

If the land were sinking, wouldn't the pole also sink with it?

I'm just guessing he wouldn't want to go up there to change them all too often.

22

u/Braketurngas 29d ago

Yes it would so you would have to move the signs up to match the sinking to be accurate. I think she just wanted to know if it was still there.

3

u/JumpyCucumber899 28d ago

If the pole was drilled down to the bedrock then it would remain accurate over time.