Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin, flanked by rows of the city’s celebrated cherry trees, is facing a growing threat from rising seas and land subsidence.
Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin, flanked by rows of the city’s celebrated cherry trees, is facing a growing threat from rising seas and land subsidence.
The peak bloom of the Basin’s cherry trees, which occurred several days ago, traditionally draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. But this year and last, waters breached the Tidal Basin’s sea walls in places at high tide, according to The Bay Journal, which covers issues related to the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay Journal said that some paths along the Basin were flooded, while other were cratered or eroded by intruding waters. The rising waters also have killed some cherry trees closest to the Tidal Basin.
“All of this area that’s like beach now — it had cherry trees,” said Teresa Durkin, executive vice president of the Trust for the National Mall, as she pointed out sandy paths by the water.
Read More: Yale Environment 360
Photo Credit: Couleur via Pixabay
