It is now late August in our fourth year of drought, and there has been no outflow to the Truckee River via the Lake Tahoe Dam since last October. Here are some photographs that I took last weekend along the Truckee River between the Tahoe Dam and Truckee, CA. In some places, there is nothing left of the river but puddles; in other places, pools remain. In the water, I saw a few small fish, a few crayfish, and a lot of algae. Ducks and geese are still paddling around in the deeper areas, and on the banks, fall wildflowers are beginning to bloom.
Visiting here reminds me of other years in the past, when this section of river is busy with rafters and tubers, a great place to cool off on a hot summer day. I hope that in a few years, we will look back at these photos and remember August of 2015 as a time of exceptional drought, and not the “new normal” or, “the good old days” when the Truckee still had puddles.
Just below the Tahoe Dam and Fanny Bridge, the river is all puddles. Aug 23, 2015.
Quaking aspen, Tahoe City, CA. Aug 25, 2015.
Below Fanny Bridge, the water is thick with algae and sprinkled with cottonwood leaves. Aug 25, 2015.
Western aster (Aster occidentalis) growing near the Truckee River downstream from Tahoe City, CA. Aug 25, 2015.
Not looking so bad: A pool of Truckee River downstream from Tahoe City, CA. Aug 25, 2015.
Eurasian watermilfoil growing in the Truckee River downstream from Tahoe City, CA. Aug 25, 2015.
Leaf scorch on a Thinleaf alder (Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia), Truckee River. Aug 25, 2015.
Eurasian watermilfoil growing in the Truckee River downstream from Tahoe City. Aug 25, 2015.
Monkeyflowers growing on the banks of the Truckee. Aug 25, 2015.
Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) near the Truckee River downstream from Tahoe City, CA. Aug 25, 2015.
The Truckee River at River Ranch. Aug 25, 2015.
The Truckee River at River Ranch. Aug 25, 2015.
The river channel near the inflow of Donner Creek. Aug 23, 2015.
The Truckee RIver at the confluence with Donner Creek. Aug 23, 2015.
Truckee River near the inflow from Donner Creek, Truckee, CA. Aug 23, 2015.
Water striders. Truckee, CA. Aug 23, 2015.
Unidentified plant. Anyone know it? Aug 23, 2015.
Boulders. Truckee, CA. Aug 23, 2015.
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