Mother Nature

Location: Carson, Washington

Mother Nature has her own time schedule. For us who live in the Columbia River Gorge area, we are witnessing her act.

This entire region is mountainous. Most of the towns hug the Columbia rivers shores while our homes are nestled amongst the hills above it.

Although the views from these hills afford us with wondourus views. Living upon them does not go without its risks.

We as humans often ignore geological facts when we choose to populate these regions. For ages this area has been known for its massive land sluff offs. Most have happened in the distant past but all one has to do is look about themselves and see for themselves that the landscape we thread upon is in fact one giant sluff off that occurred about a thousand years ago.

The following pictures illustrate that Mother Nature is never through doing what comes Natural for her.

This is a half mile ridge that is collasping into the Rock Creek below. Five homes along this stretch are in immediate danger of falling to the creek below..twenty more will soon join those five if the area continues to be unstable.

Eight million cubic yards of earth is moving in mass along this half mile. Earth Scientists are predicting that it will sluff off within days.

It is dropping at a rate of three feet a day and that is massive.

When it happens, the creek below will be dammed up and the built up behind this damm will eventually break free and rush downard to our town below..

Believe me when I say we are very nervous..I work down there and my base is in the flood plain. Within a hundred yards from the creek in fact.

What has the town fathers in a dither is the old stone bridge that spans the creek. it carries our sewer lines and electrical lines to the town. The ensuing flood could smash it to bits.

Needless to say city engineers are out in mass working near the bridge to deepend the channel for the eventual massive on rush of fallen trees and earth that will cascade down upon us..In the next thread I will show you the work involved in that.

They have massive flood lights on the area and are working 24/7 to change that landscape. It is a huge undertaking and you will be amazed at what man can do in a short time when prressed too...The effort is continuing non stop so I will take more pics for all of you to see tomorrow. Today was just a start to clear away 45 years of rock and silt that had settled near the bridge and behind it as it winds itself to the columbia river beyond.

The following photo's are the slide area itself. They start at the north end and go southward..You can clearly see how large this slide is. Like I said earlier..a half mile and over eight million cubic yards of earth

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Mother Nature