More than 50% of the United States is affected by the drought. Here, the Wabash River in southern Illinois has dried up to nearly a puddle. Click through this slide show to see more photos of the areas affected by drought in 2012.
DANIEL ACKER—BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Dry Boat
A boat sits atop the cracked and dried-up Morse Reservoir, in Cicero, Indiana. The reservoir supplies water to Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana.
DANNY WILCOX FRAZIER—REDUX FOR TIME
Withering Cornfields
Cornfields, like this one near Phillipstown, Illinois, are shriveling up and withering away as the impact of the drought is felt on farms throughout the Midwest.
SETH PERLMAN—AP
Ruined Crops
Extreme temperatures and a lack of rain cause cornstalks to shrink and lie flat on the dry ground. Farmers are struggling.
JOHN MOORE—GETTY IMAGES
The Effect on Ranchers
Rancher Gary Wollert feeds hay to his cattle on the plains of eastern Colorado on August 23. Dried-up grasslands have forced ranchers and farmers to change their cattle’s diet.
JOHN MOORE—GETTY IMAGES
Dry Topsoil
On August 24, a farmer in Logan, Kansas, holds up a handful of dry topsoil, showing how the lack of moisture is ruining crops. Kansas is among the states most severely affected by the drought.
NATI HARNIK—AP
Dusty Nebraska
A car kicks up dust while driving through a cornfield in Bennington, Nebraska, on September 6. Conditions have worsened for Nebraska and Iowa, two of the biggest corn producers in the nation.
