Posted on 01/06/2022 12:29:56 PM PST by nickcarraway
One of California’s most beautiful consequences from winter rainstorms are waterfalls.
Along Big Sur’s coastline, crystal-clear rainwater is gushing down the mountains and flowing out to the Pacific Ocean.
Sunny and calm weather this week allowed outdoor enthusiasts to hike out to iconic waterfalls, including Salmon Creek Falls, McWay Falls, Black Swift Falls, Limekiln Falls, and Pfeiffer Falls
December’s rainstorms dropped 17.64 inches of rain on Big Sur, according to the National Weather Service.
An abundance of rivers and streams flow into this rugged region of wilderness on the far south end Monterey County.
When runoff from storms reach steep elevation changes, new waterfalls form and old waterfalls are super-charged. Some of the falls have quadrupled in size compared to three months ago.
For people who love chasing waterfalls, this week is the time to head outside. KRON4’s 7-day weather forecast reports skies will remain partly cloudy, with a chance of light rain Friday.
What a waste of precious resources to allow all that fresh water to just dump into the Pacific.
Don’t go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to
Most beautiful place in the world. I lived there for a year. Water was always an issue, fire was feared.
This would be a good year to visit.
Has the spot in Big Sur where Highway 1 was washed out been repaired?
Ping
You know it’s happened a few times in the last 6 weeks. As of a week ago, there may still have been one blockage.
Caltrans maintenance staff, engineers and contracted scaling teams performed rock scaling today on Hwy. 1 south of Ragged Point where a rock slide occurred. Assessments and work to dislodge an undermined rock formation continues tomorrow followed by our update.@PIOJimShivers pic.twitter.com/9xMy4BMQVl— Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) December 30, 2021
Seems like an area so dependent on water from elsewhere would try to retain that water instead of letting it flow out to sea.
heads up on big sur video
Are trails to the Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin open now?
Have you seen the cataracts at "Little Yosemite" in Sunol? That is spectacular when Alameda Creek is full. The last time I hiked there when the water was raging I got clobbered by a hail storm at the falls. That was the year the young woman lost her life when her care was swept into the creek.
Alum Rock Park has a lot of waterfalls, too. Alum Rock Park waterfalls
The year I lived there, the best job for locals was working for Caltrans. Chunks of the road were always falling into the ocean, and cars frequently went “over the edge” too. I lived on Partington Ridge, and we could not always get into what passed for a town because road was closed. Kids were picked up by intrepid school bus every morning and dropped off every night, loved the experience.
No, I have no idea when that will be open. I think the only part of Big Basin that's open is the Waddell Creek parking lot and part of the trail around the marsh there. Maybe a mile or so at most, I'm guessing.
Years ago I was looking at some county maps of New Mexico. Every stream, every runoff had several small dirt dams on it to prevent runoff of the sparse water they get there. Just something to stop the flow and allow the water to soak into the soil.
I was worried about them.
If they were smart they would send that water to reservoirs instead of letting it flow into the ocean - but this is California we’re talking about after all. So expect them to stupidly waste all the water they got from this wet December and have dire water shortages again soon after.
Gavin and Nancy and the Sierra Club and the Chinese approve of the Delta letting trillions of gallons to flow to the ocean.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.