Publish at February 10 2026 Updated February 10 2026
Following the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty of 1848, which annexed Upper California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona to the United States, settlement of the San Joaquin region of California began. This region comprised a vast network of lakes, ponds and marshes, culminating in Tulare Lake, a vast basin over 160 km long and almost 50 km wide, and once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
Settlers first gradually drove out the native people who lived there, then systematically drained the ponds and shallow lakes for farmland and pasture, destroying the native flora and reeds whose root system played an essential role in water retention. Then, an extensive irrigation system increased the area of cultivated land, diverting water from the lake until it disappeared completely. 40 years later, in 1898, Lake Tulare (Lake Pa'ashi in the Yokut language) was completely dry for the first time.
The lake reformed several times thereafter, but only for short periods. For decades, the water distribution system ensured that the lake never refilled... until 2023.
A succession of rainy spells began in 2023 and completely submerged the region. The lake grew steadily, engulfing almost 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares) of farmland, washing away crops, irrigation networks, roads, buildings and also fertilizer deposits, manure piles and other residues, all of which called into question the quality of the lake's waters.
But this hasn't stopped the flora and fauna from coming back in force, to the point of sparking debate on the model of exploitation that has been in place since colonization, and which is being called into question in its very principles because it has led to every kind of excess, to the point of pumping groundwater to the point of exhaustion, to the point of turning the region into an oven in summer, to the point of even using the residual water from oil exploitation to water a thirsty land.
Given that 96% of the Central Valley's original wetlands and over 90% of its riparian forests have disappeared, from an ecological point of view alone, it seems obvious that better management of these areas is possible, with long-term benefits for all parties: agriculture, municipalities, citizens, climate, fauna and flora.
The losses caused by the lake's "reclamation" run into tens of billions. Better land management could have prevented this kind of disaster and, conversely, made the whole region more resilient to both floods and droughts. Farmers are not prepared to hear this if it means losing land.
For millennia, the Yokut have learned to live with Lake Pa'ashi (Tulare) and have been able to observe its behavior. From the very beginning of colonization, they noted the changes and their causes, but in those days, their voice didn't count. Today, in their search for solutions, the authorities are more likely to listen to the knowledge gained from generations of experience. A 2014 California law requires all surface water basins to be used sustainably by 2040. 2040. The question is how.
Frogs, ducks, fish, salamanders, reeds, pelicans and mussels have returned, and perhaps they too have something to tell us.
Illustration: Tulare Lake -Shutterstock - 2492064279
References
The Return of Pa'ashi: Colonial Unknowing and California's Tulare Lake - Open Rivers Journal - Vivian Underhill
https://openrivers.lib.umn.edu/article/the-return-of-paashi/
Ghost lake returns after 130 years and buries 94,000 acres of farmland - Earth.com - Eric Ralls
https://www.earth.com/news/ghost-lake-tulare-returns-after-130-years-and-buries-94000-acres-of-farmland/
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Guadalupe_Hidalgo
Tulare Lake - Wikipedia - https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac_Tulare
You might also like:
The complexity of the building sector, between ecology and digitalization
Meeting the demand for new housing also means being flexible about current issues.
Sometimes, sportsmen and women can completely lose their composure at the start of an event, when they've been putting in a string of good performances in training. These under-performances are often explained by "mental factors", but that's a bit short-sighted. Athletes and researchers have attempted to propose more refined and differentiated hypotheses. Useful analyses for anyone who needs to be at the forefront of an engaging or stressful action.
No breakthrough without discipline
The key to success is discipline. It's a long-term process. So it's wise to take things one step at a time, setting yourself small, achievable goals so that later you can aspire to bigger ones. Nevertheless, obstacles are there to test us. At this point, it's imperative never to get discouraged, but to persevere. With repeated effort, discipline becomes a state of mind, second nature.
Learning and collective research
All the potential of research to learn and develop the desire to do so.
