(Related Video) Watch a sunken ship emerge from Lake Mead 0:44
(CNN) —
A World War II-era landing craft has surfaced in Lake Mead as water levels in the largest man-made water reservoir in the United States continue to decline under extreme drought conditions.
More human remains discovered in Lake Mead as reservoir water levels drop
The intense drought that has lasted in the Southwest has caused the lake ––a source of water for around 25 million people–– to reach an unprecedented low.
Higgins' landing craft is still armored, the US Natural Park Service said. (Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Lake levels were about 317 meters above sea level on Monday, which is 7 meters lower than it was at the same time last year and 13 meters below its depth in 2020, according to Brandon Miller. CNN Senior Meteorologist.
They believe the body discovered in a barrel in Lake Mead is that of a gun murder victim from decades ago
"Every day the lake records a new low since it was first filling in 1937, after the Hoover Dam was built," he said.
"The point at which water can no longer flow through the reservoir at Hoover Dam occurs at a height of 272 meters," she noted.
What we know about the landing craft on Lake Mead
Falling water levels in Lake Mead have led to the discovery of human remains, as well as remains of ships, such as the World War II-era speedboat.
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Lake Mead levels are at record lows as the area experiences a prolonged drought.
The National Park Service (NPS) Lake Mead National Recreation Area told CNN that the Higgins landing craft still has its armor.
"The NPS suspects that this WWII surplus vessel was commissioned on the lake for various reasons, and then partially salvaged before it sank in its current location. Either it was wrecked by accident or it sank to purpose for disposing of a vessel that was no longer in use is unclear," the agency said in a statement.
The boat had its engine removed and was modified to open space between two machine gun positions towards the stern, NPS said.
Higgins Crafts' production of plywood, which was used for landing personnel and vehicles, ceased after 1945, the agency told CNN.
But the fundamental design of the vessel -- a shallow, front-loading craft with a drop-off ramp for vehicles and people -- was still being replicated, she said.
“Lake Mead has several of these distant cousins of the Higgins boat, which are still used daily on the lake to do everything from putting out fires to servicing our beaches and remote campgrounds,” the NPS commented.
Production of the landing craft ceased after the end of the war.
"An exceptional drought"
All of Lake Mead is in an "exceptional drought" area, the highest category of the US Drought Monitor's four drought classifications.
Water levels have fallen steadily since February, about two months earlier than they typically drop after winter precipitation and spring melt season, Miller said.
"In general, the annual decline ends in late June or July, when the southwest monsoon rains begin across the region. This has not yet happened so far this year, as lake levels continue to decline steadily," he said. .
World War II Drought