I'm sure many of you have heard/seen the news on the flash flooding/mud mess that happened this weekend in Inyo County. Here's the link to the story. I can't imagine dealing with the havoc and troubles caused by these forces of nature. I hope all concerned are well. http://www.inyoregister.com/content/view/108166/1
A local landscape event of lasting geological time
Mexican monsoon condition thunderstorms can occasionally really sit atop some of the east side drainages about the Sierra Crest and dump heavy rain for hours. Rather unpleasant and potentially very scary when caught up in the high country backpacking in such weather. When one of these 100+ year flashflood event occur in local areas, the landscape undergoes some significant changes that then remains relatively static for decades and or centuries until the next event. In between the usual rains, snows, even in heavy El Nino years really don't make that much a difference in the appearance of landscapes other than minor erosion and the coming and going of trees and vegetation. Just the utterly huge events make the big changes that determine the form we photograph.
Same thing with all the countless talus piles in the Sierra including those many people see in Yosemite Valley. For the most part those immense boulder piles look the same for decades, centuries. But then every millenium or so is a truly huge earthquake like the 1872 quake occurs that brings down massive amounts of rock from steeps and cliffs and causes all the existing talus fans that had grown moss and lichen atop their boulders to all move enmasse grinding and tumbling to lower elevations before they stabilize with a new landscape form.
I was up there that weekend. What conditions! I spent the weekend atop the Whites, but passed through Independence on the way home. Mud was everywhere. Nearly two days of bulldozers and CHP re-routing traffic. Water was flowing through the desert everywhere like rivers where there aren't any. I was rained and hailed on three times a day!
Discussion
2 repliesMexican monsoon condition thunderstorms can occasionally really sit atop some of the east side drainages about the Sierra Crest and dump heavy rain for hours. Rather unpleasant and potentially very scary when caught up in the high country backpacking in such weather. When one of these 100+ year flashflood event occur in local areas, the landscape undergoes some significant changes that then remains relatively static for decades and or centuries until the next event. In between the usual rains, snows, even in heavy El Nino years really don't make that much a difference in the appearance of landscapes other than minor erosion and the coming and going of trees and vegetation. Just the utterly huge events make the big changes that determine the form we photograph.
Same thing with all the countless talus piles in the Sierra including those many people see in Yosemite Valley. For the most part those immense boulder piles look the same for decades, centuries. But then every millenium or so is a truly huge earthquake like the 1872 quake occurs that brings down massive amounts of rock from steeps and cliffs and causes all the existing talus fans that had grown moss and lichen atop their boulders to all move enmasse grinding and tumbling to lower elevations before they stabilize with a new landscape form.