Outside The Interzone: May 24, 2015

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Geo 1095: May 30, Day 880: Spring Surprises

Here's a final shot from the Upper McKenzie drainage, for now, another from "Lost Springs," as I informally named it in the previous post. The best story that Anne told us about her dissertation work up here was that in the first few years of the 2000s, someone had done a project similar to hers, working out the volumes and characterizing springs forming the headwaters of the Metolius River in central Oregon. One aspect of that work was comparing the annual rate/volume of water flow, from the springs, out of the presumed hydrological basin, extending from those springs to the Cascade crest, to the modeled annual volume of water equivalent precipitation. When all was said and done, the conclusion was that there was an excess of spring flow amounting to 12 cubic meters per second! In other words, 12 cubic meters (~424 cubic feet, a bit short of 3200 gallons) of water per second more than could be explained by precipitation was flowing out of the east side springs. Needless to say, over the course of a year, some 31.5 million seconds, that's quite a bit of water.

Now I don't know how that scientist, or the committee, reacted to that result. I would have been frantically puzzled, wondering where I'd messed up, or where the incorrect assumption(s) was/were, or whether the precipitation model was anything approaching realistic. I would have not been a happy camper, because that really is an awful lot of unexplained water.

Then Anne did her dissertation work in the latter part of the same decade, and did a similar estimate of precipitation input versus spring output. The result? The west side springs appeared to have a 12 cubic meters per second deficit with respect to the amount of water equivalent precipitation it receives.

Those balancing numbers delight me. What it suggests is that the Cascade hydrological divide in the central portion of Oregon is, at least in some areas, well to the west of the topographic divide. Given the extensive covering of this portion of the High Cascades by young lava flows, cinder cones, and other tephra, that's certainly plausible. And I'm not going to fault the east side for hijacking "our" water. They need it much more than we do.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth location.

Geo 1095: May 29, Day 879: Lost Springs

I don't know if this system of springs has a name, but the outflow drains down Lost Creek to the McKenzie River, so it seems reasonable to call it "Lost Springs." They're easy to find, but from the road, there's no clue to what most people sail past on their way to or from the pass. So perhaps a better name would be "Missed Springs." In person you can see fish- I'd guess trout; I'm not a fish person, so that is a guess- swimming languidly in the crystal-clear water, but they're not easy to pick out in these photos. I think I'm seeing a few over the lighter sand, and under the long pole across the middle of this shot:

Dana got some video of the fish swimming, but I don't know if she ever posted it.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth location.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Geo 1095: May 28, Day 878: Where the Water Goes

As we left Proxy Falls during our July 2013 (my first) visit, I asked Anne if she knew where the water came back out. She grinned and nodded "yes." I don't know if she had intended to stop at this spot or not, but it's gorgeous, and I'm awfully glad we did. This is merely the edge of a vast area where water reemerges as springs and pools, so it's not just where the water from Proxy Falls comes back to the surface, but likely the main set of springs for this entire drainage, up onto the western portion of the High Cascades Platform. To find it (It's maybe 6 or 7 miles down the road from the Proxy parking area.), look for a large field on the north side of the road, with a large Douglas fir standing out from the rest of the forest toward the back. There's a dirt road across that field, which circles the tree. The path to the springs is pretty much directly opposite the tree from the highway, and it's a very short and easy walk from the field to the pools. The FlashEarth view should make it pretty clear, and drag the view to the WNW to get a sense of the extent of these springs.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth location.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Geo 1095: May 27, Day 877: Simple Contact, or Channel?

Down in those vine maples, you can see the contact between the edge of the Collier Cone Lava Flow (right) and the older, glacially carved, volcanic rock of the valley floor (left). The question is, has this contact been modified by rare to occasional burst floods from above the valley? It seems clear to me that there has been no such activity recently; the thick-bedded moss would not be so consistent. Likewise, there's some down logs in pretty advanced states of decay near the center of the photo. Any recent (past decade or so) would have left both of those features more chewed up. The contact seems rounded, which might indicate erosional modification... but look at all that living and dead plant material! Surely that might be the explanation for the apparent rounding.

In the end, as is so often the case, the answer is, "I don't know; I need more information." I'm okay with that. It means I have a reason to go look again.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth location.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Geo 1095: May 26, Day 876: Upper Proxy Notch

Looking back down the path from Upper Proxy Falls (i.e., the falls are behind us in this view), The Collier Flow is on the right, and the southern edge of the valley is on the left. Has this notch been reworked by running water? It's not clear, but it seems possible. It would certainly fit with the idea of burst floods contributing soil components (clastic sediment and plant debris) to the surface of the lava flow, and fostering an environment for rapid recolonization and reforestation. I have a few more photos of this notch, and I'll post at least one more, but looking over them, I see nothing convincing either way. Next time I get back here, I should see if I can spot rounded gravel farther down the notch- it drops quickly just past that saddle.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth location.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Geo 1095: May 25, Day 875: Collier Flow Berm

My camera's flash has a tendency to go off at times I think it's unnecessary, but it can lead to some interesting shots, such as this one. One has to clamber over the root system of this Doug fir to get at the rubbly hillside- the south edge of the Collier Cone Lava Flow- where you can see Anne and Chris in the upper left corner. It might be interesting to come up here with a couple bottles of food coloring to see if you can actually find the area(s) where the water is leaving the pool. It's shallow, and the volume is fairly small compared to the rate of flow from Upper Proxy Falls into it, so I'd bet the residence time of water in this pool is in the range of ten minutes or less.

Photo unmodified. July 6, 2013. FlashEarth location.

Geo 1095: May 24, Day 874: Upper Proxy Runout

Sitting up on the berm of the Collier Cone Lava Flow, looking down to the runout of Upper Proxy Falls is a peaceful experience. I love the little Doug fir that has managed to get established on a tiny island in the pool... I think I'll call it The Little Prince. As I mentioned in the previous post, this pool has no outlet. However, looking at the shape of the gap between this little cove and the lower valley, where the trail leads to this spot, I'm pretty confident this stream does overflow its basin from time to time. This may be related to the burst floods that (rarely) make it into channels up on the flow behind us here.

Photo unmodified. July 6, 2013. FlashEarth location.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Sunday Funnies: Bizarro Edition

Dan Piraro, the comic-artist who does BIzarro, announced earlier this week that sometime in the not-too-distant future (1-2 year range), he'll be dropping his syndicated comic for other art projects. I'm saddened; I've been a fan from very early in his career. One of the Eugene (OR) alt-papers featured his work for several years before it was more widely distributed. Nevertheless, I wish him luck on his new path. I avoid swiping more than one funny from any single post, but I'm breaking that rule here. Every single comic in his set this week is funny-worthy, and I seriously recommend you click over to see the others. It wasn't easy to select only two. Regarding that last comic, it occurs to me that there have been three distinct ages of humanity: Prehistoric, Historic, and looking at news the last decade and a half or so, it's clear we've entered a new age, the Antihistoric.

Tastefully Offensive

Blackadder

Wrong Hands

Cyanide and Happiness

SMBC

"Reading comments from reviewer two." What Should We Call Grad School?

Shannon Wheeler

Lunar Baboon

xkcd

LLment

Funny to Me

"Oh, the irony." Sober in a Nightclub

"Salvador Dali drawing a penis on the forehead of a woman and signing it with Picasso’s signature." "Let’s all take a long second to appreciate this." Funny to Me