At the top of the pass a series of small springs in the mountainside form a series of beaver dams.
At this point the road above and these ponds is pointed north and south. At both ends of the series of beaver dams the ponds drain, forming small creeks. The one that flows north goes perhaps 15 miles becoming Warm Springs creek along the way.
It empties into the Clark Fork of the Columbia, then flows west and north.
Perhaps 300 miles later it joins the main stem of the Columbia.
Along the way it goes through a series of dams, mostly hydro-electric. The dams are the source of most electricity in this part of the country. If I were more poetic I'd say the water from those beaver dams are powering my laptop. Eventually the Columbia joins the Pacific at Astoria
Back to the beaver dams.....the water flowing south goes through a lovely valley, becoming larger along the way thanks to other springs and small creeks.
It joins the Big Hole river and flows generally east and south.
The Big Hole is joined by other rivers and creeks, the Beaverhead and others. These flow into the Jefferson, continuing it's journey east.
The Jefferson after many miles eventually joins the Missouri.
The Missouri at this point is crystal-clear most of the time, with some very large trout. The river wends it's way across the nation, going east and south. Along it's hundreds and hundreds of miles water is taken out for agri-business large farms, and receives water from many other rivers. Eventually it reaches St. Louis.
As you know the Missouri joins the Mississippi, and eventually the water, or at least a few drops of it, hears the music of New Orleans before it goes out into the Gulf, past the oil rigs.
All from here, east and west:
I was playing on google maps the other night and followed the Missouri Mississippi all the way down to the gulf..... Great fun
ReplyDeleteThat is a fun bit of software. I even found my truck parked in front of my house.
DeleteAny you're correct, John. You can have the last word on your own blog. Heh.......
I always think every river flows south. Looking on a map, south is down hill and water has to flow with gravity. Intellectually I know that is as dumb as a stump, but maps and directions and me do not do very well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting following the water from a small creek to the Gulf.
If you ever want to be really discombobulated, view the usual Merkater's map, then look at the more recent Peter's Projection. You are not where you think you are, in terms of geographical projection.
DeleteLo, so many years ago, when I first heard the Missouri started in Montana, I refused to believe it. After all, it wasn't the Montana river, right? Of course, the headwaters for the Arkansas are not that far from Leadvile.
ReplyDeleteThe folly of childhood...
I went to St. Louis frequently, and when I was being driven over the bridge spanning the Missouri I'd remark "Caught a lot of nice trout in there." They'd frown, not want to disagree, and talk about something else.
DeleteI live on a watershed divide; water on one side flows to Lake Erie and so to the ocean; water on the other to the Ohio River and so to the Gulf. Several highways carry the marker denoting the watershed change. The other thing the ridge of land does is stop storms, like Alberta Clippers, from dumping a lot of snow on the south side. Of course, I live on the north side.
ReplyDeleteSome think that the continental divide means the water either flows to the Atlantic or the Pacific, and in some ways they are correct: the gulf eventually hooks up to the Atlantic. Most rivers west of West Virgina go to the gulf first.
DeleteI love this. My blog thinks you're all wet, though:-)
ReplyDeleteI met your blog at the Dew Drop Inn in Toledo, still owe's me fifty bucks.
DeleteThere;s an Indigo Girls song that goes,
ReplyDelete"And the Mississippi's mighty
but it starts in Minnesota
at a place that you could walk across
with five steps down.
And I guess that's how you started
like a pinprick to my heart
and at this point you rush right through me
and I start to drown."
Hi SAW
DeleteI do like the Indigo Girls, as well as the Cranberries, for their lyrics and music. The down side of liking it for awhile is that maybe 10 years ago I was in the car listening to a CD from one of them, the youngest daughter said "Jesus, dad. This is depressing. Let's put on some Clapton or something".
I HAVE walked across the Mississippi at Itasca in Minnesota. And Joe, the Red River, in North Dakota, flows from south to north. Don't ask me how since everyone knows Canada is above North Dakota so gravity would mean the river would flow the other way. Lots of strange stuff in North Dakota.
ReplyDeleteAnd SFM, I loved your post with all those great pictures but I didn't see either Tom Brokaw or Ted Turner in any of them.
Tom had some other appointments, and Ted's still pissed that I throw empty beer cans over his fences.
DeleteOh, and regarding the north to south thing: look up a map of the Gall-Peters projection, invert it, and all will become clear.
DeleteWhen I was younger woman, I dreamed of following all the rivers in the United States from trickle to end. I read about river boats and flatboats, canoes, rafts and river steamers. But I put those dreams away, made other choices, followed other pathways.
ReplyDeleteTonight my heart yearns for those younger-woman dreams...and for the woman who dreamt them.
Martha
DeleteThe river's still flowing, lady. Find a boat, launch.
PS: all the images are good ones, but the most evocative, for me, is the first one, with the dams and the deep blue sky reflected in the water. Good shot, Mike.
DeletePPS: and that's Algiers Point, across from the warehouse district in NO. That photo was take from the Huey P. Long bridges, headed into New Orleans...jeeze, talk about nostalgia breaking my heart this evening...never thought I'd feel homesick for the Crescent City again, but I sure do!
DeleteThank you for this unexpectedly poignant post, Mike.
More than welcome, Martha. I have fond memories of New Orleans too, many centered around food.
DeleteThat was great! From a small acorn, a might oak grows...
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. I'm sure a lot of (if not most) people see the Mississippi and don't even wonder where all that water came from.
(I wish some of it would come over here).
Rather different ecology from your haunts down there, eh? We have snow forecasted for tomorrow evening.
DeleteMethinks that beaver pond had to be the east west connection Lewis and Clark were looking for and missed....:)
ReplyDeleteHeh, good one TB. Yeah, they actually spent a lot of time in this area, it's not known if they got up here. Their method was to keep going NW, and over to the Snake and Columbia.
DeleteThe first time we drove from the east coast to the west we stayed on Hwy 90 most of the way. I think we crossed the Snake River at least a dozen times. I'm still confused about that.
ReplyDeleteYour story and photographs of springs and beaver dams leading to streams and rivers heading in different directions is wonderful.
ps: It was great checking out the Peterson projection maps again. Thanks for the reminder.
On I90 you didn't cross the snake a dozen times, you crossed the Clark Fork that many times. West of Missoula 10, between Butte and Missoula twice. I think.
ReplyDeleteThe Snake is further south.
Yeah, the Peters Projection is great, put's people on their heads.