After being snowed out on January 6th, I returned to the Klamath with Colleen to install my cameras on Copco reservoir and to retrieve the first batch of photos from Iron Gate. Drawdown was still early in Iron Gate and the tunnel on Copco had only been opened the day before. Still, it was exciting to see the Klamath running in the upper reaches of Iron Gate reservoir.
The tributaries were the main source of action. At Jenny creek, a single-thread and incised channel with steep (almost vertical) banks had developed and was cutting down through its delta.
Jenny creek was cutting through an elevated delta deposit above the level of the surrounding reservoir delta (see left side of image below). I wondered if the channel would avulse towards the outside of the bend and head for the main reservoir deposit earlier. Time will tell!
Looking upstream on Jenny Creek. It is possible to see the elevated delta deposit relative to the reservoir in the middle right of the image.
Looking across at Jenny Creek. The bank is approximately 5 meters high. Note the failure debris at toe and near vertical angle of the bank.
At Scotch and Camp creek, the story was much the same.
Note the slab failure along the banks. The stream is deeply incised through near-vertical banks that are failing actively.
Stay tuned for the first round of timelapse imagery on the next post!
Comments