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The Ups and Downs along the Columbia River



Each spring, as temperatures rise in the mountains, our rivers swell with melting snow.  I enjoy watching the water rise while running along the Columbia River and I adjust my course higher on the banks when the water rises.This past season the mountains accumulated higher than average snow that combined with a cool spring, which led to an especially high flow in late May. In early June the river reached flood stage at the USGS gaging station at Vancouver, WA (14144700). I was surprised by the river height and thought back to several months before and remembered running along the beach, far below where the water now occupied. I wanted to somehow capture the seasonal changes. On June 17, 2011 I took photos from four locations in Broughton Park, located along Marine Drive near the Portland International Airport. The USGS gage station along the Columbia River indicated the river was in flood stage at 16.7 ft. The water was flowing swiftly, in places eroding the banks.

As summer passed  the mountain snow faded and the river lowered. By September I was running the on the beach again and I decided to rephotograph the river. On September 10, 2011 stage was 2.5 ft. The floating docks and boat house had lowered by 14 feet, the pylons and beaches were revealed, and the steepness of the eroded banks had softened. While none of these were surprises I still find myself examining them, captivated by the fluctuations which take place in just three months.


Daily mean gage height of the Columbia River as recorded by the USGS gaging station at Vancouver, WA (14144700).




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Location: Broughton Beach

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