Lake Mead in Historic Drought

A buoy warning 'no boats' stands on dirt at the abandoned Echo Bay Marina on July 13 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. The marina closed last year after no businesses wanted to operate it, in part due to falling water levels according to the National Park Service. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, the water in Nevada's Lake Mead National Recreation Area dropped to levels it hasn't reached since all the way back in the 1930s, when the lake was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam.

The lake's slowly shrinking pool – due to a combination of a 14-year-long drought in the southwestern U.S. and a dwindling supply of water from the Colorado River – puts the nation's largest man-made reservoir at only 39 percent capacity, as water levels have fallen about 130 feet since Mead last reached its peak in 2000.

(MORE: Lake Mead Drops to Lowest Point Since the 1930s)

Water levels have even dropped 30 feet since late February of this year, forcing visitors to walk hundreds of yards on foot (with their beach gear in tow) to enjoy what's left of the water along the shoreline, according to TucsonNewsNow.com.

Photographer Ethan Miller of Getty Images took these images of what Lake Mead looks like now, offering a first-hand look at how an iconic U.S. destination is dealing with the impacts of drought and a changing climate across the region.