Drought

Like much of the US, the southern 2/3rds of Kansas has been hit hard this year by drought. This photo was taken a week and a half ago at Quivira NWR, which is a Wetlands of International Importance. Normally, there is shallow water everywhere. The area shown here is from the Big Salt Marsh, which usually looks like a small lake. The mud is so dry that it even lacks its normal sponge feeling, and the cracks are several inches deep. The marsh has been dry long enough that somebody drove all along the edge and then out across portions of the mud flats. A few days after I took this, we received a little rain, and it sounds like there may be a little water in portions of the marsh. 7D, ISO 200, 1/200, f/11, 17mm, minimal crop