High Water |
Fall CreekBy "High Water" is meant an unusually high flow in a waterway or waterfall. The US Geological Survey (USGS) often places stream flow gauges near hydroelectric power plants to tell just how much water is going by. This flow is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), and readings are posted to the Internet. The only such gage I've been able to find in the Ithaca area is the one at Fall Creek, located online athttp://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv/?site_no=04234000.
Then on the morning of April 3, 2005, it broke 6100 cfs, which has happened only four times since recording began in 1926. The path to Ithaca Falls at Fall Creek was under a foot or more of water in several places so the Falls were unapproachable. (See left figure below.) The only real view of the Falls was from the road a couple hundred yards away. (See right figure below.)
Also on Fall Creek are the Triphammer Falls. Below are shots of these falls at normal flow and at 6100 cfs.
Taughannock FallsAt Taughannock Falls the increase in stream flow is not so dramatic as it is at Ithaca and Triphammer Falls, but it's still very noticeable.The photos below show three views of Taughannock Falls at normal and at high water:
Van Natta DamVan Natta Dam on Six Mile Creek in Ithaca, NY, is another falls that responds dramatically to larger volumes of water. Unfortunately most of the views of it are inaccessible during high water. Still, the following three comparison shots are impressive.
Buttermilk FallsThe first photo below is a head-on shot of Buttermilk Falls with normal stream flow. The second, from the same viewpoint, shows the falls after heavy spring rains and snow-melt.
Snoqualmie FallsLarger falls, of course, have a larger stream flow. See photos of Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State, where it typically reaches 20,000 cfs or more a couple times a year. |