A shallow Lake Lanier can be hazardous

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Aerial photos of Atlanta's watershed Lake Lanier on the Independence Day holiday weekend. Visitors swimming and boating had to be especially careful due to ongoing drought conditions. On Sat. July 5 lake levels were at 1055.96, about 15-feet below full pool for this time of the year.

Boaters on Lake Lanier on the Independence Day holiday weekend had to be especially careful because of ongoing drought conditions. On July 5, lake levels were at 1055.96, about 15 feet below full pool for this time of the year. Dropoffs, visible in this photo, are hazardous to swimmers because most visitors are expecting a smooth bank area and can be surprised at the dramatic elevation change close to shore.

Boat docks are getting farther and farther from the shore as Lake Lanier's drought conditons continue through the summer. This photo is an aerial view taken on the Independence Day weekend.

A large houseboat makes anchor, and passengers walk the sandy shoreline. Lake levels were at 1055.96 when this photo was taken, about 15 feet below full pool for this time of the year.

As coves become smaller and smaller, docking boats at Lake Lanier can be tricky.

Boaters have to be extra careful because of the low water levels.

Cocktail Cove was filled with boaters on the Independence Day weekend. The cove is a popular area to anchor, swim and socialize just off the shores of PineIsle Golf Club.

Can you count over 50 boats either tied together or floating nearby?

Water shimmers in the late afternoon sun as boaters in Lake Lanier's Cocktail Cove fill the area

A closer look at the five big houseboats anchoring the floating festivities at Lake Lanier Islands. The photo shows dozens more smaller boats with sunbathers and swimmers at Cocktail Cove. However, underwater obstacles revealed by the drought challenge visitors, "The shallower water conditions could expose sandbars or stumps to those swimming or boating," Corps spokesman E. Patrick Robbins said in a statement last week.

Shallow areas close to shore are revealed in this aerial photo.

A speedboat sweeps around a cove on the east side of Lake Lanier near a steep dropoff. Officials said several drownings were reported that could have been caused by underwater hazards like this related to the drought.

Boaters on Lake Lanier during the Independence Day weekend.

Looking north, boaters on Lake Lanier dock on the shore of islands. Shallow and deep areas are visible from the air but are not as easily seen from the lake's surface.

This group of islands in the middle of the lake, looking toward the east, is a benchmark of sorts - their shorelines steadily increase as the lake's level drops. The trio of tree-covered islands (center) are not connected during full pool and a very small island, visible by air, begins to reveal itself (center right).

An island showing an expanded shoreline in the bottom center is just outside of the popular Cocktail Cove area near the golf course.

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Boaters on Lake Lanier on the Independence Day holiday weekend had to be especially careful because of ongoing drought conditions. On July 5, lake levels were at 1055.96, about 15 feet below full pool for this time of the year. Dropoffs, visible in this photo, are hazardous to swimmers because most visitors are expecting a smooth bank area and can be surprised at the dramatic elevation change close to shore.

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