Every day, Lake Mead seems to be less deserving of its title. The waterbody has officially reached yet another historic low. The reservoir is now less full than in April 1937, when it was still being filled for the first time. It is hovering around 27% of its full capacity, according to NASA Earth Observatory. Satellite images from NASA, released today, are a stark illustration of Mead’s plight.

Before Lake Mead was a lake, it was simply a stretch of the Colorado River. Then the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation initiated the construction of the Hoover Dam, which was built between 1931 and 1935. And slowly, the river became a reservoir—filling to capacity over the course of years.