The sands of time swallow Crescent Lake in Western China

Crescent Lake (above), once a fabled stop along the Silk Road in the Gobi Desert of Western China, will soon be nothing more than a memory.

The desert oasis near Dunhuang, home to one of the world's greatest shrines to Buddhism and once China's gateway to the West, is on the verge of disappearing from the map.

Development in the area and the damming of the Dang River, which once flowed past Dunhuang, have combined to lower the underground water table in the area by as much as 35 feet and have dropped the level of Crescent Lake more than 25 feet since 1975.

The area is also home to the Mogao Caves, painted with murals dating to the fourth century by monks who helped bring Buddhism from India.

Both the caves and the lake have been designated World Heritage Sites by the United Nations.

Jim Yardley wrote about this fabled place in yesterday's New York Times.