In California's San Joaquin Valley, the land around the Tulare Basin has unique dips and rises. The culprit of these strange divots isn't the earthquakes that plague the West Coast. They are from the human-made wells used to unearth the area's groundwater—the water held in the area's soil.

The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the US, providing nearly half the nation's food. The Tulare Basin, a historic watershed in the Central Valley Aquifer system, collects most of its water from the snowmelt runoff from nearby mountains, with some also imported from other aqueducts and canals. The entire aquifer system provides drinking water for about 6.5 million residents. But between California's recurrent droughts, water shortages, and the increased risk of wildfires, humans have been pushing underground water resources to their limit.