The Stunning Ways Driftwood Builds Landscapes

I think hugelkultur fans will find this story interesting.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/25/stunning-ways-driftwood-builds-landscapes/

Our Earth Mother builds growing mounds. Her scale is far larger than mine though.

This happened in Utah recently.

Quite stunning, thank you for the visuals!

This also happened in Utah recently:

http://www.weather.com/news/news/utah-flash-floods

It was said that the families in Hildale had gone to the wash to watch the flood, but it was much larger than past ones and overwhelmed them before they could get away. I cannot explain why experienced canyoneers would have entered that slot canyon in Zion's with heavy rain forecast for the area. Maybe it was pressure to use their reservation or lose it?

Please be very careful around desert washes and slot canyons during the monsoon season. The cameraman could just as easily have been overtaken by that debris flow. There are some very good flash flood videos taken from a drone. That is a lot smarter.


On a lighter note, I found the NatlGeo video to be fascinating. We don't see that kind of growth very often around here because it is so dry. Wood only rots if it is covered with damp soil. An exposed stump can last for decades (that is why the beetle killed forests are such a fire hazard). I suppose flood borne debris is more easily buried and has better access to moisture, so it would be a great place to grow things -- until the next flood.

The quantity of driftwood on our shores is unnatural.  Most of this material arrived due to losses from the logging industry.

 Logs physically damage rocky beaches, knocking  oysters and other life from their moorings. Wood pulp builds up so deeply that many rockfish are not able to find nesting sites or oxygen levels and acidity levels prevent eggs from surviving.

 When we gather this resource,  we bring things back to a more natural situation.