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You may recall that there was some serious rain this winter in Three Rivers. I was fascinated by all the rushing water and posted a few times about it in March. March 11, March 12, and March 13. (Probably posted in January and February too, but who wants to chase down all those links?)
One result of that enormous amount of water is that Kaweah Lake filled up very quickly. Now, the Army Corps of Engineers is letting water out as fast as possible to make room for the large amount of anticipated snowmelt. This means we can now walk down at the lake bottom again, and wow, is it ever fascinating and ugly.
Looking upstream from the Slick Rock parking area; Alta Peak is visible with snow on it and Blossom Peak has three points on the far right.
Normally when the lake is this low, this gate is open and we drive farther down. Not this time.
There’s a culvert beneath our feet here. It had to be roaring through to create this canyon.
The water is still flowing through the culvert; that is Highway 198 above.
Somebody was here when the mud was still squishy.
Driftwood galore.
So many layers of different types of dirt: silt, fine sand, coarse sand, all so thick.
It started getting a little squishy.
Look how deep this stuff is!
Too bad backhoes and trucks can’t come get this for fill on all the washed out roads, for future sandbags, and just to allow the lake to hold more water. But this is owned by the government, which isn’t exactly known for practical thinking or helpful practices.
Weirdly fascinating, definitely ugly. Life in Three Rivers can be so varied and interesting; if one must live in Tulare County, I vote for Three Rivers (although Exeter is an awfully nice town if you like town living, I dearly loved living in Lemon Cove, and Springville is quite beautiful in springtime.)
Tomorrow we will wash our eyes out with some wildflowers.
A post about walking on the lake bottom in March of 2020 is here. . . scroll down for the lake pictures.
4 Comments
Your sand bag idea is a good one.
Donna, I have been curious as to where all the county fire stations get their sand.
Someone who works in construction told me that the sand from the lake contains too much “organic matter”. Maybe if people used that sand, they’d end up with yards full of cockleburs.
So many questions, so few answers.
“But this is owned by the government, which isn’t exactly known for practical thinking or helpful practices.”
Understatement of the Year!
Sharon, thank you for recognizing my remarkable restraint with this (under)statement.
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