Water, water everywhere!
The annual high water in the area seems to have reached its seasonal high
and we can only hope that there will be no more damage done. We dealt with the flood of ’72 when our new
home was flooded along with the rest of the Oak Hills subdivision so we know
well the difficulties that can come from that.
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| Beautiful Kamloops Lake |
Today we are looking at high waters but enjoying the
views. Kamloops Lake, which is 1.6 km
wide, 29 km long and 152 m deep, has reached the high water levels but will
hopefully soon recede. These
measurements would vary, depending on the time of year but we get an idea of
size from these.
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| Debris floats down lake |
Over 60% of the fluctuation of the lake occurs during the
spring months of May and June. The lake
levels rise as much as 9 m (30 ft) during this time. This is when you can see debris being carried
down the river in mass amounts. Most of
which are trees, twigs and branches from the shoreline but many other things
have been seen over the years.
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| Scenic Kamloops Lake |
The South Thompson which flows from the Shuswap Lake and the
North Thompson Rivers meet in Kamloops then widen out to be Kamloops Lake until
it narrows down into the Thompson River again as it leaves Savona, about 50 km west
of Kamloops. It has limited accessibility
along most of the shoreline but there are boat launches available for those who
like to enjoy boating on this lovely lake.
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| Savona Park |
The public park at Savona is covered in water but it hasn’t
prevented some from enjoying the sunshine on this late day in May. Some were seen at the park, on the wharf and
boating. It isn’t safe boating in water
with this much debris as many pieces cannot be seen so boat with caution
anytime but especially now.
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| Debris gathers along shoreline |
Savona gets the debris as it gathers in the small alcoves
and the shoreline when the water recedes.
I am sure some of what we saw were accumulated over several seasons but
it is amazing the amount that flows down the lake.
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| No marmots to be seen |
McArthur Park has no damage seen by the high waters other
than there being no little marmots out looking for treats. Their homes are hollows in the riverbanks so
have been filled with water causing them to move on, but they seem to come back
every year.
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| MacPark Slough |
The Slough fills up high, making it much prettier than with low
summer waters but again, it disrupts the local lives of geese and ducks who
make their homes in these waters. A deer
and her fawn were at home just below this spot last summer when we
visited. They couldn’t be doing that
now.
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| Momma Duck and her ducklings |
As we were driving out of the park, this Momma Duck and her
babies were crossing the road so we stopped to watch the parade. All went well until they got to the curb and
the little ones just could not jump up that high. We watched for a few minutes
yet Momma was just standing there waiting, no attempt to help.
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| Wonderful helper |
A kind lady went over and gently helped those little ones up
over the curb while Momma just stood and watched, without making any squawks or
sounds of objection! Within moments they
were all together again and on their way.
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| Happy family continues |
What a nice way to end our sightseeing day.