Water views, blue and green

Still playing catch up. These are all photos of water, from various points on the island.

Blue water:

View of Buttle Lake, stretching away south from Buttle Narrows, where the bridge separates Buttle from Upper Campbell Lake. The lake is more like a slow river, 30 km. long, 1.5 km wide. Through the car window.

Crofton ferry landing, looking towards Saltspring Island.

Islet at low tide, off Saltspring Island.

Green water:

Darkis Lake, near Buttle Lake. At 475 m. by 200 m.. almost too small to be called a lake.

Above Elk Falls, where the Campbell River runs peacefully, all unsuspecting that the bottom will fall away just down the line.

Puddle on the rocks above Elk Falls, reflecting the hillside opposite.

White water:

Skiff, Churchill Beach, Saltspring Island.

Waterfall; creek running down from Big Baldy Mountain, near Gold River.

Next, quirky landings.

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Sigo tratando de ponerme al corriente. Estas son escenas con agua, en diversos sitios de la isla.

1. El lago Buttle, mirando hacia el sur desde el puente que lo cruza al punto donde toca el lago Upper Campbell. Este es un lago largo y angosto, casi un rio lento, midiendo 30 kilómetros por apenas kilómetro y medio en su parte más ancha.
2. El desembarcadero del trasbordador que cruza hasta la isla Saltspring.
3. Islita (a marea baja; cuando sube la marea es una roca) cerca del desembarcadero en la isla Saltspring.
4. Agua verde.  El lago Barkis, un pocito tan pequeño que apenas merece el nombre de lago. 475 m. por 200 m. Cerca del lago Buttle.
5. Rio arriba de las cataratas Elk, donde el rio Campbell corre en paz, sin sospechar que en unos pocos metros se le va a desaparecer el fondo.
6. Un charquito en las rocas arriba de las cataratas, reflejando el verdor de la ladera opuesta.
7. Un esquife azul en la playa Churchill, en la isla Saltspring.
8. Cataratas cerca de Gold River; un riachuelo que baja desde la montaña Big Baldy (Calvo Grande).

At the mouth of the Gold River

Gold River comes in two parts. There's the village, population 1300, and 13 km. farther down the highway, where the river enters Muchalat Inlet, the tide flats, the docks, and the logging operations. The scene there changes as you turn from left to right, from sleepy and quiet, to a growling, rumbling, pounding busyness.

Green water, green hills. The yellower water is the tail end of the tide flats; the ruffled water in the centre is the outflow of the Gold River.

Moving right. A Nootka Air float plane, and the inland arm of the Inlet.

Smokestacks of the Uchuck lll. The name derives from the Nootka word, "Chuck" (approximate pronunciation) meaning "water", or "ocean", depending on the tone.

Log booms, and the outward-bound arm of the Muchalat.

Busy harbour.

Yellow boom boat pushing a log back into position.

And on the far right, the log piling operations. Hungry jaws!

Strathcona Dam campground

Its just over 2 years since I discovered the Strathcona Dam. I've been back several times, but always stopped on top of the dam itself to look out over the lake. But there's more!

BC Hydro created a recreational site on the far side, at the very foot of the dam: spacious campsites, outhouses, open fields, a boat launch. When I looked over the dam in the summer, it was full, every campsite occupied, day users parked in the fields. I didn't go down.

This week, it looked empty and I drove down to explore.

Water races out of the spillway, foaming and splashing, hurries down a narrow channel, turns a corner and settles down, forming a serene lagoon. Here, the water reaches that first corner.

And just around the bend, a quiet little lake.

All the way around the edge of the campsite, an alternate spillway. The dam end is rocky and dry at the moment; the water is still. In the distance, white ducks dive for their supper.

One of the two Canada geese.

Back along the active spillway, from the first campsite. Ghostly winter branches warmed by the light on rosy catkins.

Directly below the dam, the setting sun prisms across the top, tinting the water green, pink, cool blue.

Sign from the information area.

Text of sign: You are standing below the largest hydroelectric dam on Vancouver Island. Strathcona Dam is part of the Campbell River Hydroelectric System which includes the Ladore and John Hart developments and the Salmon River, Heber River, and Quinsam River diversions. 

Strathcona was the last dam completed on the Campbell River Development project. This 53 meter high earth-filled dam created Upper Campbell Lake, a 48 kilometer long reservoir for water storage. The water that flows through this dam will drop over 200 meters, passing through three generating stations, Strathcona, Ladore and John Hart, before it reaches the ocean. As you drive towards Campbell River, you will pass near two other reservoirs, Lower Campbell Lake created by Ladore Dam and John Hart Reservoir created by John Hart dam. This major project was started in 1945 and took over 13 years to complete.

Map of campground and spillway channels, from info centre. With shadows of overhead cables and towers.

Map of the three dams. Campsite shown just beneath the first dam. The road crosses the dam at the top, re-crosses at the base, between the spillway control building and the dam.

Here and there, spotted around the campsites and the recreation areas are signs: DANGER! KEEP OUT! SIRENS!. The danger, I understand, is only on the water and the shores of the spillway; at times, a large volume of water is released, and the current could be lethal. The sirens are to warn people who have ventured into the channels. The land is safe.

I would have trouble sleeping there, though. A daytime, very much alert, awake visit is enough for me.