"Water Is Disappearing From Mexico's Vital Desert Oasis Cuatro Cienegas"

"CUATRO CIENEGAS, Mexico - Alfalfa plants sway under a thin veil of mist as towering irrigation equipment rolls above the crops, spraying the vast fields with water.

It's an important agriculture product in Mexico's northern state of Coahuila, grown there for hundreds of years. Rich in fiber and protein, it's used to feed livestock in Latin America's second largest economy.

But alfalfa crops and other agricultural activities are also sapping dry the ancient oasis of Cuatro Cienegas, the most important wetland in the Chihuahuan Desert and a geological anomaly that scientists say can help them understand the origin of Earth, climate change and the chances of life on Mars."

Daniel Becerril reports for Reuters March 21, 2024.