~~~~Mashable1
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Even in mid-summer, the air is cold and restless atop the dividing line that separates the Colorado River watershed to the west from the drainage basins that eventually feed into the Mississippi River to the east.

Above the tree line in Rocky Mountain National Park, flowers have bloomed but are stunted, clinging to the surface to anchor themselves against the constant, battering winds. Pikas, which look like a cross between a chipmunk and a marmot, thrive at these cold, high altitudes, darting in and out of rock formations to the delight of summer tourists.

There are still a few snowdrifts in mid-July, leftovers from last winter, and soon the snows will begin again. Lately, though, the winter snows and late summer rainfall has not been nearly enough to put a dent in the drought that has gripped the Southwest since 2004.

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!!!!!DroughtStrickenSouthwest1With a bathtub ring marking the high water line, a recreational boat approaches Hoover Dam as it makes its way along Black Canyon on Lake Mead, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, near Boulder City, Nevada.
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