Mt. Nusatsum

Mt. Nusatsum

Monday, March 7, 2011

Clear River


After months of the Bella Coola and Atnarko Rivers being silty, both rivers (at least in the Bella Coola above the Nusatsum and Noosgulch River tributaries) are finally nearly clear -  not gin clear like a normal winter, but clear.  After the Great Flood of 2010 the fall period saw both rivers high and silty right till the freeze up.  In any other winter as the winter progressed the Bella Coola would lose it glacial colour, and the Atnarko River is normally clear in all but the spring freshet and normal fall freshets.  For a while this winter it looked like neither river would ever go clear, there was a lingering silt colour even through the earlier Arctic cold spells.  Finally tonight you can see the bottom of the Bella Coola River from the bridge.  And the photo above is the magnificent Thunder Mountain at the headwaters of Noosgulch Creek with today's blue sky for a backdrop. It sums up the weather for today in the Bella Coola Valley.   Grizzly

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