Breach!

Six inches of rain have been recorded by instruments on Bodega Head during the last 2 days.  And I've heard upwards of 10 inches of rain were measured further inland.  No wonder the mouth of Salmon Creek looked like this today!

 

I don't know exactly when the creek broke through the beach, but the flow this afternoon was impressive.  There were standing waves near the opening to the ocean.  This view is from the south side of the creek looking north.

 

Further back towards the village of Salmon Creek, the creek bank was carved out dramatically and large chunks of sand were slumping into the creek.  It reminded me of calving glaciers.

  

It was hard to predict exactly where it was going to happen next.  But developing cracks in the sand provided hints.

 

I tried to record the sound of these dramatic splashes.  Here are two examples.  (Remember to turn up your volume.)


creek calving1 by nhbh

 creek calving2 by nhbh


And even further back, there were some quieter spots with nice swirling eddies.  (If you listen closely, especially with headphones, you can still hear the rumbling waves of the ocean in the background.)

creek eddies by nhbh