Ogallala Aquifer
Underground Midwest water
The Ogallala Aquifer is a vast underground water reservoir beneath the Great Plains of the United States, stretching from South Dakota to Texas.
It supplies irrigation water to one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, supporting much of America's wheat, corn, and cattle production.
The aquifer is being depleted faster than rainfall can replenish it, making its long-term sustainability a pressing concern for farmers and policymakers: The Ogallala Aquifer has dropped fifty feet since my grandfather started farming here.
- groundwaterWater in underground rock
- Great PlainsCentral North American grassland
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
- rechargeRestore electrical capacity
- droughtsExtended periods without precipitation
conservation · water table · High Plains · irrigation systems · renewable resources · depletion · drying up · water rights · water wars · porosity · prairie grass · Texas Panhandle · crop rotation · wells · Kansas · evaporation rates · soil moisture · hydrology
- American geologyGrand Canyon, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, Appalachians, Sierra Nevada
- Great PlainsGreat Plains, high plains, High Plains, grassland, grasslands
- Southwest WaterColorado River, Rio Grande, Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Hoover Dam
- Texas PanhandleAmarillo, High Plains, flat terrain, cotton farming, cattle ranching
- Aquifersgroundwater, water table, artesian wells, drawdown, freshwater
- groundwateraquifers, water table, recharge, wells, underground streams
Ogallala Aquiferriver
Large flowing watercourse
Mississippi River · surface water · Colorado River · stream · lake
Ogallala AquiferSahara Desert
Massive North African arid region
Death Valley · desert · Dust Bowl · Arabian Desert · drought zone