Water flooded areas of California's San Joaquin Valley in the spring of 2023, where roads and agriculture had been in place for decades. Rivers were forced out of their channels by frequent strong storms and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada. Shallow seas swept fields away. For those who knew the region, what many saw as abrupt flooding was actually something older and less unexpected. Once thought to be obliterated, Tulare Lake was now filling up once more. The lake, which the Yokuts called Pa'ashi, or huge water, used to dominate the valley floor. About 94,000 acres were affected by its reappearance, upsetting infrastructure and agriculture. It also reopened deeper questions about memory, land use, and how California manages water in a changing climate.
