Science / Medicine : VIEW FROM SPACE : Drought Shrinks the Once Mighty Mississippi

Satellite photos of the Mississippi River in June, 1985, and June, 1988, reveal changes caused by the massive drought that has hit Midwestern and Southern states this summer.

The top photo, taken in 1985, shows an area three miles north of Greenville, Miss. It was taken during an average year when the river was 26.8 feet deep.

The bottom photo, taken last June 11, shows the river when it was 12.1 feet deep, a record low.

At point A, the river width has decreased by a full quarter mile. At B, river channels located just east of Arkansas City have been closed off by the increase in size of a large sand bar. C marks a system of flood control dikes along the lower Mississippi.

Source: Earth Observation Satellite Co.