California drought: Dramatic before-and-after photos

In these before-and-after images, the Bidwell Marina at Lake Oroville in Oroville, Calif., is seen. Here, the reservoir is near full on July 20, 2011. (Photo by Paul Hames/California Department of Water Resources via Getty Images.) less In these before-and-after images, the Bidwell Marina at Lake Oroville in Oroville, Calif., is seen. Here, the reservoir is near full on July 20, 2011. (Photo by Paul Hames/California Department of Water ... more Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close California drought: Dramatic before-and-after photos 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

California is in a historic three-year drought, and recent photos taken in Northern California put a visual exclamation mark on the issue.

The images were captured in August by Justin Sullivan of Getty Images, in the same locations at Lake Oroville and Folsom Lake where the California Department of Water Resources took photos in July 2011. Lake Oroville in Butte County is currently at 31 percent capacity, while Folsom Lake near Sacramento is at 38 percent of capacity.

The visual impact of the sunken lakes, shrunken marinas, and disappearing waterways caused the photos to be picked up by outlets from The Atlantic to Vox and more.

Check out the interactives above to slide from 2011 to 2014, and check out more images from Chronicle photographers showing the devastating toll of the drought in California.