Rising Lakes Enriquillo and Azuéi, Dominican Republic and Haiti

The Dominican Republic’s Lake Enriquillo has doubled in size since 2002. By March 2016, it had engulfed 40,000 acres of farmland and displaced thousands of families. Similarly in Haiti, Lake Azuéi grew by 40 percent in that time period, stretching farther into the neighboring country. Dominican leaders hope damming the Rio Yaque del Sur, the nation’s second-longest river, will keep the lakes from swallowing more farmland and further threatening the fragile ecosystem. Images taken by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus onboard Landsat 7 and the Operational Land Imager onboard Landsat 8. Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat Missions Gallery; Lake Levels in Hispaniola Rise Dramatically; U.S. Department of the Interior / USGS and NASA.