Water as a sky multiplier, Bosque del Apache, January 2014
Water in the desert: big sky edition
jfleck at inkstain
A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico
Water as a sky multiplier, Bosque del Apache, January 2014
In a year like this is it mostly groundwater that fills the ponds there, or are they able to take water from the river?
Chris – It’s sorta both. This is one of those places where the groundwater-surface water connection means it’s all coming from the same place. There is a network of drains (ditches) dug to intercept the shallow water table, which is quite closely connected to the river. The drains were used to drain the swampy areas and reclaim land for farming. This was done, I think, in the 1930s. Then a large main drain was dug in the 1950s. Those drains are used as the source of supply to the refuge. So it’s surface water, because it’s flowing in drains on the surface, but the drains are drawing from the shallow aquifer, so it’s groundwater, but ultimately that aquifer is tightly couple with the river, so it’s sorta surface water in the end. Does that make sense?
Also, that’s a pretty wide angle lens, so the pond isn’t as big as that picture makes it look.
Pingback: Water in the desert, Bosque del Apache plumbing edition | jfleck at inkstain