Low water and dry rocks

 It rained this morning. Gently, for a few minutes, enough to dampen the roads. Too little, too late. But it's a start, anyhow.

The river has been so low that salmon haven't been able to spawn, dying before they have reached the egg-laying sites. Walking along a side channel on Sunday, peering into the water at every clear spot, we saw maybe a half-dozen small fish, a few inches long, and 2 very dead adult salmon.

“There are definitely a lot of (salmon) populations struggling with really low, really warm water. And it presents all kinds of challenges.

When they are in warm water like that, there is less oxygen available and their immune systems become compromised. They are more vulnerable to predators and they have less energy.”

Low water levels can stop them from spawning and even if water comes in, they might not have enough energy to dig a nest and lay eggs by then. (From the Vancouver Sun, Oct 5.)

These are views of the river below the John Hart Dam, taken a couple of weeks ago. The whitish borders of the river mark the normal water level.

Flowing over rocks

Quiet pool.

There's a small post up against the rocks, probably with markings for measuring the water level.

There's still no rain in the weather forecast for the next week.

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Esta mañana llovió. Por unos momentos, levemente, suficiente como para humedecer las calles, y ya. Bueno, es algo, aunque poco y tarde.

El rio anda tan bajo que los salmones no han logrado depositar sus huevas, muriendo antes de llegar a los sitios de siempre. Caminando al lado del rio el domingo, buscando en toda oportunidad en el agua, vimos unos cuantos pescaditos, y dos salmones adultos, bien muertos.

"Definitivamente hay muchas poblaciones de salmones que sufren ahora porque el agua está cálida y no hay suficiente. Esto les presenta muchos retos.

Cuando están en agua tibia, hay menos oxígeno disponible y sus sistemas imunológicos pierden su eficacia. Son más susceptibles a la predación y les falta energías."

Niveles bajos de agua les puede impedir depositar sus huevas, aun si sube el agua, para entonces ya les puede faltar suficiente energía para excavar sus nidos y poner allí las huevas. (Tomado de el Vancouver Sun, el 5 de octubre.)

Fotos: el rio debajo de la presa John Hart, hace quince dias. Se ve por la marca blanquisca el nivel normal del rio. En la tercera foto, se ve un poste blanco en frente de las rocas; este probablemente sirve para medir el nivel del agua.

Y viendo el pronóstico del tiempo, no se ven indicios de lluvia en toda la semana que entra.

Buttle Lake; a bit of history

Large areas of Vancouver Island have been historically untouched by humans. The terrain is too rugged; the rainforest too dense, the climate too inhospitable; even the inland waterways are forbidding. Most settlements have been along the coast, accessible by boat. (Dugout canoe, in the old days.)

For example:

What was described as a first class trail between Nanaimo and Comox had been completed in May 1863 ... When Brown explored up the island in August 1864, [15 months later] he found the trail blocked by windfalls and washouts, although he did find one bridge remaining at the Qualicum River. (Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition 1864)

An easy trail to follow through the bush. Google maps photo, Karst Creek trail.

Buttle Lake, running down the centre of the island, between steep mountains, was discovered first by Europeans in 1865. (If First Nations people had been there earlier, they have left no trace. That we have found.)  John Buttle, with the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition, discovered the lake in 1865, probably following a chain of lakes and rivers upstream from the coast. Buttle Lake is the first of the lakes and rivers that feed into the Campbell River.

Buttle Lake from Auger Point, looking downstream.

The lakes were smaller back then: in 1958, the BC Power Commission dammed the Campbell Lake, raising the water level 30 metres, dividing the lake into Upper and Lower Campbell Lakes. The water backed up into Buttle Lake, raising it by 5 metres. These days, when the water is low, the stumps of the old drowned forest are still visible on the bare shores.

Near the north end of the lake. The water is low, although the rains have started.

Remains of a drowned forest.

Island, mid-lake.

There is an interesting set of photos on a UVic library page, Before Strathcona Dam. Two photos of the same area of Upper Campbell Lake, taken in 1950 and 1959, are layered, with a slider to show how the lake grew. Worth looking at.

A Skywatch post.