A boat is anchored in the mud because the owner couldn't reach the dock at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind.
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Severe U.S. drought

Boats grounded

A boat is anchored in the mud because the owner couldn’t reach the dock at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind.  (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Dry coves

The Morse Reservoir is down nearly 6 feet from normal levels and shrinks a foot every five days to provide water for Indianapolis.  (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Stunted growth

Jack Maloney with a drought-damaged ear of corn on his farm in Brownsburg, Ind. He expects a total loss on his corn and soybean crop.  (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Withering crops

Jack Maloney with his withered corn crop.   (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Cracked earth

Boats sit on the cracked earth at Morse Reservoir.  (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Morning sun

Corn stalks are struggling in the heat and continuing drought that has overcome most of the country.  (Seth Perlman / Associated Press)

Widest drought in decades

The drought gripping the United States is the broadest since 1956, according to new data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)

Growing crisis

What’s left of corn stalks in Farmingdale, Ill.  (Seth Perlman / Associated Press)

Manhattan, Ill.

Farmer Dave Kestel checks the progress of a corn field battered by the heat and a lack of rain in Manhattan, Ill.  (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune)

Naperville, Ill

Dan Millsap of Naperville, Ill., golfs on a parched course.  (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)

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