Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Grand Falls -- a question of scale


One of my last posts had a head-on view of the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado. OK so it looks like it could be the size of an irrigation ditch. If you really doubted how large these falls are, look very carefully in the lower left hand corner of the above picture. It helps if you click on the picture so you can see it full size. Down in the corner area are two orange round objects. Those are people with helmets. That's how big this waterfall is. Really! If you still don't believe me, look carefully at the junk floating in the river below the falls, on the left side of the floating mess there is a tire.

This waterfall is not on most maps of Arizona, but there are a few of the state highway maps that show the location. If you look at the map, go just to the northeast of Flagstaff and you will see where the Little Colorado River turns sharply north, that is the location of the waterfall. The weather is hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. The wind blows almost every day of the year. Don't plan on seeing any water except at those rare times when the river is running and the snow is melting in the mountains.

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