Monday, May 30, 2022

Lake Powell Glen Canyon Flash Flooding

11 comments:

  1. That's me after a tacos and beer binge night.

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    1. Hilarious 🤣- if you can’t share a poop joke among friends they’re no friends at all…

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  2. Canyons plus rain = floods. And they can be lethal. I was in Zion National Park many years ago when a rain storm hit the upper park area, and within minutes the Narrows (a slot canyon with the Virgin River flowing through it) flooded and washed away a hiking group, a bunch of Germans. I'm not sure they ever recovered the bodies, but I was fortunately in a different part of the park at the time. It was a grim time there.

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    1. Germans and the Southwest desert. Legion are the tales of disastrous results when the two meet.

      I was in Page, AZ when eleven Germans, all of one family, perished in horrific accident. Severely unequipped for the harsh clime, another mistake was following the lying GPS in their rental van. It led them miles off the asphalt into deep sand. That was a recovery with hopes of one rescue until that too became a recovery. Dad and oldest son attempted to walk out. Dad made it a little further than the son.

      That same week, a pilot spotted a capsized boat in the distant reaches of Lake Powell. Rescued were all four men, who were visiting from (take a guess).

      My brother worked in Death Valley for several years. Every summer - yes, summer! - bus loads of Germans would arrive. Gregarious and up for adventure, they wore their severe sunburns like trophies. Year after year many would be airlifted to Las Vegas for various types of maladies.

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    2. Yes, and the rainstorm can occur 50 miles away and you know nothing until the water shows up in your slot canyon.

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  3. In 2008 the dam at Glen Canyon, which impounds Lake Powell, released more water than ever before. The lake came very close to overtopping the dam. Every canyon was flowing in deep water. Picturesque Antelope Canyon wasn't just filled with water, the water level was 20 feet or so higher than the upper most parts.

    The waters flooded the streets. After the waters had receeded there were mounds of the red dirt hiding the road beds. I saw about a one mile stretch of the highway under 3 or four feet of dirt which had been transported by the waters. Traffic across the dam was heavily restricted to be almost nonexistent.

    In 2010 it happened again but to a lesser extent.

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  4. Something people rarely consider are the pools of quicksan which linger long after the waters have receded. There are few signs which distinguish them from the dry sand. On a hike to Birthday Arch, a gal in our group got caught up. But fast action by the group kept her from sinking more than thigh level. And this was before the monsoon. That means its likely that pool had been there year round

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  5. Well, Lake Powell and Lake Mead could use thousands of these floods right about now. Almost empty in terms of running it's hydro-electric turbines. No end in sight and no one in charge with any ideas. Lots of up to date reports on youtube.

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    1. Several things at play here. The Magic Kenyan upheld the water rights of Mexico. This increased the downstream obligations. That was a novel, never done before.
      Ovomit encouraged Mexico to sue. Then paved the way for that court decision.

      Las Vegas continues to grow and grow. The treat Lake Mead as their own. Corrupt politicians in high places allow this to perpetuate.

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    2. In fact, I predict this next winter or perhaps the next will feature deep snow pack in at least the Rockies, if not widespread in the SW.

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