The Jemez river is normally a whisper, a voice barely audible to those close to its banks. But the river has another voice, one reserved for the spring run-off. It is an amazing transformation if you stop and think about it. The snow has inhabited the highest, most inaccessible parts of our mountains. The change of seasons has finally reached the mountain tops, and snow has become water. Snow clings to the rocks and trees where it falls, but water is an explorer. Water is destined to flow through the canyon, down to the valley floor and into the river.
All this is done not in silence, but with great exuberance. We are a thousand feet above the river and I love to walk out on our deck on a dark starry night and hear the roar. So many things about the Jemez surprise and delight my eye as well as my ear.
This is a picture of a place the locals call soda dam. It is born from the mixture of two very different sources of water. The water you see in the picture is nearly as cold as the high mountain snow from which it comes. But in the same place, very hot water seeps to the surface. The snow water gleefully follows the law of gravity as it races to the river. But the hot water defies the law of gravity as it is expelled from regions of eternal heat far beneath our feet. This hot water is full of minerals carried from its rock home far below.
There is a promise of something spectacular where these two come together, and the river does not disappoint. The picture you see is the strange offspring of the two waters. More than a mere mixture of waters, this progeny is solid rock. The hot water builds it up, then the cold water gives it a smooth polish. But it didn?t end there. This rock progeny eventually grew and merged with bedrock on the far side. The water was trapped by its own rock. Over the long haul, nature has no stronger force than flowing water. In a geologic sense, attempts to hold it back are destined to fail. At some point in the recesses of time, the force of the surging cold water pierced an exit through it own polished masterpiece. And now the river flows through a tunnel of its own creation. It created the wall, and then created a tunnel through it. As you edge close to this watery tunnel, the waters roar overwhelms all other sounds. It calls to mind the roar of triumph. A mighty force that will not be denied.
All this is done not in silence, but with great exuberance. We are a thousand feet above the river and I love to walk out on our deck on a dark starry night and hear the roar. So many things about the Jemez surprise and delight my eye as well as my ear.
This is a picture of a place the locals call soda dam. It is born from the mixture of two very different sources of water. The water you see in the picture is nearly as cold as the high mountain snow from which it comes. But in the same place, very hot water seeps to the surface. The snow water gleefully follows the law of gravity as it races to the river. But the hot water defies the law of gravity as it is expelled from regions of eternal heat far beneath our feet. This hot water is full of minerals carried from its rock home far below.
There is a promise of something spectacular where these two come together, and the river does not disappoint. The picture you see is the strange offspring of the two waters. More than a mere mixture of waters, this progeny is solid rock. The hot water builds it up, then the cold water gives it a smooth polish. But it didn?t end there. This rock progeny eventually grew and merged with bedrock on the far side. The water was trapped by its own rock. Over the long haul, nature has no stronger force than flowing water. In a geologic sense, attempts to hold it back are destined to fail. At some point in the recesses of time, the force of the surging cold water pierced an exit through it own polished masterpiece. And now the river flows through a tunnel of its own creation. It created the wall, and then created a tunnel through it. As you edge close to this watery tunnel, the waters roar overwhelms all other sounds. It calls to mind the roar of triumph. A mighty force that will not be denied.
