EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Each week a different image of our fascinating environment is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional ecologist.

14-20 October 2019

Click on images for larger versions

After the Flash

Flash Flood Wash
Northern Mexico

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:  I just ducked a bullet, so to speak.  In returning to the main highway, here in Sonora, Mexico, I had to re-cross this innocuous-looking streambed.  But minutes before, it was raging, wall-high, with torrents of mud and branches and rocks.  

Flash flood.

What about my next hike across these desert washes?  How liable am I to get trapped in another flash flood?  Predicting them can be tricky at best ... as they are often fed by heavy storms far upslope, with no local sign of bad weather.  


Information:
     Collier, C.G.  2007.  Flash flood forecasting: What are the limits of predictability?  Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 133(622):3-23.

       

Next week's picture:  Mining Legacy and Tight Squeeze

< Previous ... | Archive | Index | Location | Search | About EPOW | ... Next >

 

Google Earth locations
shows all EPOW locations;
must have Google Earth installed

Author & Webmaster: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot, Tom Bruce
Disclaimers and Legal Statements
Original material on Ecology Picture of the Week © Bruce G. Marcot