Deserts are not usually where cities grow. Yet along the California-Arizona border, part of the Mojave Desert eventually became home to a planned city built around a man-made lake. NASA's Landsat mission has documented how the landscape changed over time, using historical maps alongside satellite imagery to show the transformation. The story begins with Parker Dam, built on the lower Colorado River in the 1930s as part of a major water and power project. The dam created Lake Havasu and helped regulate the Colorado River for water users downstream. Water from the reservoir was also diverted into the Colorado River Aqueduct, which carries supplies to Southern California.
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