High Water on the Guadalupe River

Our back property line is halfway across the Guadalupe River in San Jose. The storms which have been tromping through the Bay Area this week hit our area hard. The river crested twice just a few feet below the top of the bank, a good ten feet above normal level. Luckily, the sharp bank slope keeps the water moving so it falls as quickly as it rises. Also luckily, the far side of the river is lower than the embankment that protects our house, so the river would flood there first. (We know this because in the El Nino of 1997, the Guadalupe went over her far banks.) Here are some of my photos from behind our house and off of the nearby bridge. The first photo is from two years ago, for comparison.

A great deal of trash and debris go down the river in a flood like this. Huge tangles get caught up in the trees. We were watching the river on Friday and saw a plastic foam human skull merrily bobbing down the brown rapids. Very odd.

Images Copyright 2006-2008 by Katy Dickinson