A Watery Mosaic ~ 2-21-11

The Dam at Douthat State Park 

This mosaic tells a science oriented story about the dam at Douthat State Park, a story I did not know even existed until 2 weeks ago. The lake above the dam was still pretty covered in ice, but there were varying amounts of water spilling over it at all times. After we hiked around the lake, we spent at least 30 minutes there at the dam just watching, listening, and studying what we were seeing. 

The water would be just a relatively quiet, small, split-up flow over the spillway, but gradually it would turn into a raging full and loud one.  It was unbelievable, and the longer we stood there watching the more we saw the sequence repeat itself. I tried to document it as best I could so be sure to start in the upper left hand corner. 

This 1st shot shows the spillway far from being totally covered with water. There was a time when the flow was a far less than a slow, spaced, downward flow, but my photos do not show that. Follow the shots down and around and you will see what I am talking about...and just pretend you are hear the sound get louder and louder as the water flow increases. The 2nd one on the bottom shows the spillway fully consumed by the fast moving water and there you can see the copper glowing through the water there at ground level. The next shot is of far less water, but it gives you another look at the pool below. The last one is taken from the other side of the dam so as to give you a little more perspective. The large photo in the middle was taken at the lower level fall spillway which is absolutely beautiful and a favorite fishing hole for the children. 

The end of the story is I learned much that day. I didn’t know the flow fluctuated )as it is supposed to do), and I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear the variation in the amount of roar it made. I hope my explanation made sense to you, and the series is large and clear enough for you to see what I have been relating to you. Click on the individual photos to enlarge them.

This post is linked to:

 Mosaic Monday ~ Mary Carroll’s Little Red House 

 Watery Wednesday sponsored by 2sweetnsaxy  ~  a.k.a. T. Bruce

Weekend Nature ~ Gemma’s Greyscale Territory