OCR Text |
Show r I ! , I ..-' - - r v. - : - - r ' 7 . - 'J -T " ..f" ' ' ,. r -.'. . ' ! "V " ' J f N :-' ''" '' ' ' ' ' . . - ' ;. ' y-" .' ; ' . -v - ' '.. ' V" .... ...... , . ; . : ' s : . J " " . -' ' J ... ' " '. ' ' . J. " '-; ... .,;; 1 . '. ' ' .'' - ..i.;,. ... " ' ' - .-iw.-... i.-, i'Z-'j- . . jj,'- . 1 i '.. ' " .. ' ' - i II dry wash In the back ground carried these large rocks and more. The new I rocks are distinguished by their bright red color, in contrast to the grey rocks July Floods Brought new Rapid Jo Exciting River Above Moab By Curt Stewart Local River Runners had a telcome surprise on the weekend of the 31st of July; a lot water year on the Colorado Ever had turned daily float trips into a slow moving, rock lodging ordeal. V Hie heavy rains that caused the Oooding which destroyed Ike new Mill Creek Bridge, also washed down a pile of sandstone boulders, that dammed dam-med up a bend in the River, and formed, to the delight of the river people, a new rapid. The huge rocks were washed wash-ed down from Dome Plateau via a dry wash that runs east of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, and empties into the Colorado River. I IHW I IllIP II I I II I i 'r 1 -, if&, ' ,-... - i 1 -.11 was a calm flat spot on the Colorado 1:1 liver just three weeks ago is now a ffl lull-fledged rapid, providing local river that were already there. runners an unexpected thrill in a low-water year. Heavy rains and the resulting flash flood washed these huge boulders into the river. i i .. ffr ....... - r.N-V -s-.--.. fCj rock3 Sljch as this one will be buried by high water flow Sprin9. the rapid will grow and give any boatman an The forming of new rapids in a land where major changes inthe landscape occur so gradually that most people in an average lifetime, would hardly notice, rivals -the forming of an arch as a natural spectacle. The last known new rapid on the Colorado River was formed in the Grand Canyon years ago as a result of a rock slide. The possibility of a similiar occurrence within our lifetime is pretty slim. Though flash floods, and rolling boulders are not uncommon, during any heavy rain storm in this part of the country, the size and the number of rocks was rare indeed. Years of flash flooding lodged these rocks in their tenapus position high above the river, until that final storm that finally dislodged them and sent them rolling towards their destination, in a once clam flat spot in the River, forming a rapid that might be the most challenging of all in the daily stretch for the local river runners. It has already claimed a few motors and will probably claim a few more, as the river continues to drop, and exposes more rocks. . Some local boatment wonder wond-er about the size of the rapid, when the season starts with high water next spring. It will surely be larger, and with the river running at a peak flow over the new rocks, it will form exciting ride. Photos by Curt Stewart large holes, and rollers, which culd give any veteran white water fan a sure thrill, and quite possibly an unscheduled swim. There are some uncertainties uncertain-ties surrounding this new natural wonder. Will it indeed stay in high water, or will it wash further down the river and lodge somewhere else? The general consensus is that it will stay. One can look at Cataract Canyon, where the monstrous rapids there were created by a similiar force, and they, for sure, are still there. Another question that looms is, what to call it? Any good exciting "scoutable" rapid worth its salt deserves a good name, and so far it is referred to as simply "The New Rapid". That question, if still unresolved by spring, will probably be settled as the first weeks of high water take on the challenge of skilled boatmen, boat-men, and they wonder if they have finally found "Bozo Falls", after years of dreaming. |