These photos are from October, but they reminded me that we are doing a long-term pictorial of how the river and land changes throughout the year. This is located near our house. It is a unique ecosystem because during spring snow melt, the dam a few miles down is shut and the valley fills. This reservoir is used to water the livestock and farm crops that grow in the lower valley during the months where we get virtually no rainfall. These months are June-December or even mid-January.

The water is at its lowest this time of year. All of the rocks will be under water. Even the dirt road you see will be completely covered when the reservoir begins to fill. I'm planning on having the kids noting and charting some other items such as the temperature and any wildlife they see when we visit. I'll let them come up with other interesting information as they explore

Photo 1 is from the parking lot.

Photo 2 is looking down the valley just a bit.

Photo 3 shows the view up the valley where there are currently shallow rapids.