Beneficial Moisture

The rains have finally come to Monterey, and have alleviated the drought a little. In fact, Monterey airport has had measurable rain 20 of the past 28 days. Rainfall for this season is now near normal, but since the past two years were dry the reservoirs are still very low. But, some rain is better than none. I've had about seven inches during the past month; many places have had more. As a result, the Carmel river is now flowing strongly. The lagoon is now the river channel, with strong current and even a smidgen of rapids! The pelicans and seagulls have had to find another place to hang. Compare the width of the river with the pic on the previous blog post.

About ten miles upstream at Garland Park, the river is also running strongly. Although many trees are in the water, the river was about three feet below the official flood stage when this pic was taken.

Yes, I know this is not a spectacular waterfall, but it's running stronger than I've seen it in several years! This is the waterfall at Garland Park; it was dry just five days ago. It's about 40-50 feet high. The water flows into the Carmel River just a few hundred yards downstream.