Jaw-Dropping Video Shows What Drought Has Done to a Missouri Lake

I don't think I would have believed this if I hadn't seen it. A brand new video share shows the drastic change that the ongoing drought has done to a Missouri lake. Jaw-dropping only begins to describe it.

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This new drone video shows Lake Contrary in Saint Joseph, Missouri. This is actually a very historic part of Missouri that used to be home to a resort dating back to the late 1800's. The video shows Lake Contrary as it was as recently as 2020 and what it looks like now. It's barely recognizable.

This is Lake Contrary in 2020.

After 2 years of drought, this is that same view of Lake Contrary.

Here's the drone video showing both 2020 and post-drought views of the lake.

According to St. Joseph Memory Lane, Lake Contrary was such a thriving part of Missouri that it even had a horse track built nearby in 1890. It had a figure-8 roller coaster and a huge animal carousel and had one of the tallest roller coasters of the time in the 1930's.

Floods and storms would eventually lead to the downfall of Lake Contrary until the area was closed in 1964. Ironically now it's the lack of moisture that threatens the area near St. Joseph that used to be thriving.

Missouri Drought Monitor still shows much of the state including the area near St. Joseph is abnormally dry. Time will tell if this improves with winter snowfall and spring rains in 2023. As of now, it's a shadow of what it used to be.