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Floodgate Interpretive Hike

[Jul 10] Save the date for a walk with geologist Julie Bawcom along the Floodgate section of the Navarro River to learn about the geology of our watershed, and view photos of the Floodgate slide then and now.


Background...

During the morning of March 24, 1995, two State Park employees canoeing and kayaking the main fork of the Navarro River noticed a dramatic drop in flow and a widening of the river. They continued paddling downstream until they reached a landslide that had dammed the river. They could hear trees breaking as they portaged across the wall of debris along the east side of the channel. The dam had recently breached, and the channel of the swollen river was a third its normal width. This made the water so turbulent at the downstream end of the dam, that upon re-entering, the experienced boaters struggled nearly 20 minutes to successfully escape.

This landslide was named the Floodgate, for the confluence of Floodgate Creek and the Navarro River. The landslide occurred following the heavy rains of January and March 1995. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration precipitation station 3.5 miles north of the landslide is near Camp Navarro along the Masonite (now MRC) logging road. It recorded 17.7 inches of rain in January, none in February, and 18.7 inches during the 23 days before the failure, including more than 6 inches the week before the event.


There is no fee for this event, but RSVP’s are requested, as space is limited.

Please contact us at avlt@mcn.org or 707-895-3150.

Reference “California Geology, September/October 1996.

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