Havasu Falls Video

Here is a video of Havasu Falls during the recent flood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AhIXPxQ9Ow

Not good at all.

I was planning on making a trip down there next year, I have a feeling the place will look a little different

Oh man, what a bummer.

Wow.

But everyone should realize that Havasu has experienced periodic flash flooding since it's existence, Whether from a broken man-made dam or sudden cloud-burst of torrential rain, one flood can not "ruin" the character of the canyon. The travertine walls and dams form more quickly than you'd think, the water will quickly return to it's crystalline, blue-green color, and the vegetation will soon populate the new landscape created by the flood.

It may look different than before. But it will be no less magical.

Well said, Scott. We forget that our favorite spots were shaped by powerful events like these and many such events have happened...they will look different, but with a new magic we have yet to see.

Amazing. I think that some stills during the flood would have been more powerful, even beautiful, than the usual pristine scene.

I went to Havasupai about 17 years ago, in September. The late summer monsoons had been going on for awhile that year (sorta like this year, maybe). When we arrived in Havasupai, we were disheartened to find that the water was brown and muddy - not chocolate thunder like the current situation, but still not the turquoise water that everyone always associates with the Falls. We were there for two nights and I don't remember doing much shooting. The real bummer is that on the morning we left at 5:00 am (to beat the heat, and to get back to "civilization" at a decent time), we could just make out in the pre-dawn light that the water had cleared up quite a bit. Therefore, I suspect that this is just a natural ebb & flow, although the flow is quite a bit higher this time.

So, it remains to be seen how this situation will unfold. If there is a lot of silt behind the Redlands Dam that will be washed through there during rainy periods then, yes, Havasu Falls may end up being browner/muddier for some time. On the other hand, if/when the dam is rebuilt, then the Falls will be back to their same state, I'm guessing...

Tim!

From what I've heard on mountainbuzz.com the dam did not hold a large amount of water and its contribution was small in comparison to the amount from the rainstorms. I understand it hit over 4000cfs which is about what the Arkansas River peaked at this year, keep in mind that Havasu is a creek-size bed. Pretty mind-boggling. I was there 2 years after a blow-out that occurred in 1995, and it was still quite depressing to see, especially after having experienced it in its glory days of the early and mid 80's. The water was beautiful as always, but near the confluence with the Colorado the travertine terraces were barely there, not to mention unsightly log jams in multiple places. I only hiked about a mile upstream before returning to the river. The lower canyon near the Colorado will probably take 5-10 years to recover. The Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls areas should recover within 2-3 years, since the gradient (not counting the actual falls) is less than it is as it nears the river 6 miles downstream from Mooney. Also the pools below each of the big falls are large enough to act as a buffer, to slow the onslaught to a degree.