Articles tagged as Water | Smithsonian Magazine

An algae bloom in Lake Erie leaves hundreds of thousands without fresh drinking water

August 4, 2014

The CAP canal is pictured running past houses and businesses it feeds in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Central Arizona Project is a 336-mile, man-made river of canals that delivers water from the Colorado River basin uphill to service water needs in southern Arizona, including Tucson and Phoenix.

New Research

Don’t Bank on Groundwater to Fight Off Western Drought—It’s Drying Out, Too

Water losses in the west have been dominated by dwindling groundwater supplies

July 29, 2014

The small lakes that dot Russia's Yamal Peninsula were likely formed in the same was as the two strange holes.

Trending Today

That Weird Siberian Hole Has a Twin

Melting permafrost can change the land in really strange—and sometimes dangerous—ways

July 25, 2014

Cool Finds

There’s a Secret Pool in the Mojave Desert

Part art project, part public pool, this artificial oasis will take some effort to get to

July 1, 2014

Floodwaters gushing through a dam on the Yellow River.

New Research

Humans Have Been Messing With China’s Yellow River for 3,000 Years

When humans try to tame nature things rarely go according to plan

June 20, 2014

An oasis in the desert. Tucson, Arizona, as seen from space. October 28, 2011.

Prolonged drought and a rapidly expanding population are pushing Arizona’s water system to its limit

June 20, 2014

The Baker river, one of the Patagonian waterways that would have been blocked by proposed dams.

Environmentalists are calling the decision “a land-mark”

June 12, 2014

Water extracted from beneath California’s San Joaquin Valley keeps farm fields green. But it may also be affecting earthquakes in the region.

New Research

Pulling Water Out of the Ground May Lead to Quakes on the San Andreas Fault

Ground movements linked to water extraction may change stresses on the fault famously responsible for California earthquakes

May 14, 2014

The Ooho edible water bottle can't be closed, but is biodegrade.

Tech Watch

Here’s A Water Bottle You Can Actually Eat

A simple culinary technique may go a long way toward ridding the world of excess plastic waste.

April 24, 2014

New Research

Mars’ Super-Thin Atmosphere May Mean that Flowing Water Was the Exception, Not the Rule

A new analysis suggests that Mars’ atmosphere was often too thin to support liquid water

April 18, 2014

Warka Water towers are designed to take advantage of condensation.

Tech Watch

This Tower Pulls Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

Designer Arturo Vittori says his invention can provide remote villages with more than 25 gallons of clean drinking water per day

April 8, 2014

Snow in the Sierra Nevadas, January 18, 2014.

California’s snowpack is running low, a bad sign for a state plagued by drought

April 2, 2014

When viewed from space, Earth looks like a water planet. But nearly all of that is saltwater and undrinkable.

A World of Water Woes

From the Middle East to the Caribbean to Australia, people around the world are dealing with water scarcity

March 22, 2014

Journey to the Center of Earth

There May Be a Second Massive Ocean Deep Beneath the Surface

Chemically bonded to minerals in the transition zone, Earth’s mantle may be rather wet

March 14, 2014

Cool Finds

Reusing Hotel Towels Actually Does Make a Difference

Laundry accounts for 16 percent of hotels’ water usage, which translates into significant energy costs

February 25, 2014

Plumes of steam rise up from many spots along the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park.

New Research

Yellowstone Belches Ancient Helium

Gas stored in the Earth’s crust for hundreds of millions of years is released by volcanic hotspot

February 19, 2014

A gondola, piled high with books, sits in the middle of the shop.

Why Does This Bookstore Keep Its Books in Bathtubs?

Venice’s Libreria Acqua Alta keeps its books in bathtubs, gondolas and canoes—and not just for show

February 13, 2014

UK-based startup Xeros has created a washing machine that allegedly leaves clothes cleaner while using 72 percent less water.

Tech Watch

This Washing Machine Could Be the Next Game-Changing Appliance

An innovative system that uses stain-sucking plastic beads translates to big savings

February 6, 2014

The Hetch Hetchy reservoir is one of California's crucial reservoirs.

An ongoing drought has drained California dry

February 3, 2014

New Research

An Oasis in the Void: Dwarf Planet Ceres Is Venting Water

Ceres is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter

January 23, 2014