But the general picture is of a landscape substantially wetter, greener, and more ecologically productive than the modern desert.

The vegetation around the lake was different from today’s desert scrub.

Grasses grew more abundantly.

Wetland vegetation — reeds, sedges, aquatic plants — fringed the lake margin.

Trees that today grow at higher elevations may have extended into the valley floor in areas where water was available.

The ecological community supported by this wetter, cooler landscape was richer than today’s, both in diversity and in total biomass.