--- title: "They Keep Finding More Skeletal Remains at This Drying Up Lake" description: "The Lake Mead Swim Beach, a popular spot for beachgoers not far from Las Vegas, seems to be absolutely teeming with human remains." date: "2022-08-18" modified: "2022-08-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/skeletal-remains-lake-mead" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "drought" - "lake mead" - "the digest" --- # They Keep Finding More Skeletal Remains at This Drying Up Lake ![The Lake Mead Swim Beach, a popular spot for beachgoers not far from Las Vegas, seems to be absolutely teeming with human remains.]() *\Image: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Skeleton Army The Lake Mead Swim Beach, a popular spot for beachgoers not far from Las Vegas, seems to be [absolutely teeming with human remains](). Officials just unearthed even more skeletal remains at the beach — a grisly consequence of shorelines dropping precipitously amid a prolonged, climate change-driven "megadrought" in the region, [*CNN* reports](). ## Earthly Remains In fact, it's the fifth set of human remains found at the lake since May, when boaters came across a [human body stashed inside a barrel](). Just a few days later, paddleboarders [made the next horrifying discovery](), followed by even more grim discoveries. Coroners have already been trying to figure out if the remains of the first two sets of remains could be from the same person, *CNN* reports. It's still unclear if the third discovery is connected to the first two. Receding shorelines have also revealed a [sunken World War II-era boat]() as well as the lake's [original intake valve]() from the 1970s. ## Dried Up Lake Mead represents the country's largest water reservoir and is formed by the Hoover Dam. The lake has dropped to just 27 percent of its capacity this year, [according to NASA](), affecting the livelihoods of millions of people across seven states since the lake serves as a major drinking source for the Southwest. The connected Colorado River has also sustained massive losses amid the ongoing megadrought, with the US Bureau of Reclamation [announcing unprecedented water cuts]() today for the surrounding states. It's a horrid vision of what's still to come as temperatures keep soaring summer after summer. Who knows what receding shorelines will unearth next. **READ MORE:** [Human remains are found at Lake Mead's Swim Beach for the third time amid dramatically dropping water levels]() \[*CNN*\] **More on the lake:** *[Rangers Keep Discovering Human Remains in Drying Up Lake]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()