8 Winter 2011 Applegater
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
Floating freezers
BY RAUNO PERTTU
In my fi rst geology class, I discov-
ered that the physical earth and its past
can be understood through study of the
rocks, landforms and the geological
processes that created them. It’s satisfy-
ing to stand on a mountainside and to
understand how the rocks under your
feet, which were once mud on an ocean
fl oor, came to form the mountain above
you. However, I also have to admit that
a major attraction of geology for me from
the beginning was that events like volca-
nic eruptions and earthquakes are truly
exciting. I include fl oods in the exciting
Mother Nature events that give geologists
an adrenalin-rush. Over the years, I’ve
had the chance to see active volcanoes,
fl oods, and even an earthquake or two.
Standing close to Mount St. Helens
inside the closure zone and watching an
early stage eruption cloud rising into the
crystal clear morning sky above us was
awe-inspiring. Violent geological events
are still exciting. I understand these
events can cause human suff ering, and
feel very badly about that, but these earth
processes were happening long before we
occupied the planet, and will continue,
uncaring of our presence.
As geologists, my wife and I moved
often. It was part of the profession.
When the kids were about to enter school,
we decided it was time to put down roots,
and, after a thorough search, chose the
Applegate. We were delighted to fi nd
a riverfront property. Th e family liked
fi shing and looked forward to playing
in the water. Th e river also off ered a fun
variety of viewing entertainment. We
became acquainted with geese, mergan-
sers, ospreys and a whole variety of birds.
We were delighted with the occasional
otters. We were less delighted with all the
beaver. We learned that those beautiful
deer on the river bank are actually raven-
ous rodents in disguise. Over the years,
we spent countless tranquil afternoons
and evenings watching the many moods
and abundant wildlife of the river. And
then there was the time we watched an
upstream neighbor’s freezer hurrying for
the Pacific, carried along in a brown,
churning torrent.
Over the past weeks, I’ve watched
the cold storms sweeping in from the
northern Pacifi c and the snow building
up in lower elevations and wondered if
another exciting event is in store. Th is
is the fi rst ingredient of the pattern that
in our valley has created fi ve memorable
large fl oods, along with several smaller
fl oods. Th ese fl oods have started with
the accumulation of lower elevation snow
from the kinds of storms we are now
having. However, to create a memorable
fl ood, we would also need enough rainfall
over a period of days to weeks to saturate
our soils, followed by a warm and very
wet rainstorm from the southern Pacifi c.
(Our historic fl oods have included these
cumulative ingredients, where warm
The necessary ingre-
dients for these fl oods
don’t come together of-
ten, so, despite the early
low elevation snows, the
possibility of a serious
fl ood this year, as in any
given year, is low.
rain quickly melts a large lower elevation
snowpack and those who built close to the
river learn the dangers thereof.)
Many of us have vivid memories of
the New Year’s fl ood of 1997. One of my
vivid memories is of that neighbor’s freezer
bobbing through the four-foot standing
waves. Low water bridges, such as that
of my mother-in-law, were damaged or
destroyed. Fields and roads were fl ooded,
and the water shooting outward from
the Applegate dam’s wide-open spillways
was impressive. Although memorable,
it wasn’t one of the really large historic
fl ood events in the larger Rogue Basin.
Those of us who are older remember
the much larger
Christmas fl ood
of 1964. This
was the most re-
cent of the five
really big Rogue Basin fl oods. Because I
was young and living in Astoria, I don’t
remember the great Christmas fl ood of
1955. Th ere’s likely someone still living
in our Applegate Valley who remembers
back to the great February fl ood of 1927.
Even earlier were the great fl ood of Febru-
ary, 1890, and the granddaddy of them
all, the Christmas fl ood of 1861.
Th e necessary ingredients for these
floods don’t come together often, so,
despite the early low elevation snows, the
possibility of a serious fl ood this year, as in
any given year, is low. We tend to forget
about fl oods during periods such as the
past few years, when we haven’t even seen
high water. On our property, the gravel
bar that was created by the 1997 fl ood
has had time to become overgrown with
alders and it looks like it has been that
way forever. Before 1997, the main chan-
nel of the river ran where the alders now
grow. I can understand how someone
new to the area could assume the current
scenery is a permanent situation.
Applegate residents don’t have to
be geologists to observe that our infre-
quent fl ood events move more material
and make more river channel changes
than all of the cumulative river activities
in all the years between the fl oods. Be-
fore 1997, our own stretch of river had
rapids and deep pools that were replaced
by the fl ood with the now overgrown
gravel bar and shallow riffl es. Maybe the
next fl ood will be kind enough to give
us back the rapids and pools that we and
the kids loved. Th ere could actually be
some good in that next exciting event.
However, I don’t need to see any more
fl oating freezers.
Rauno Perttu
541-899-8036
jrperttu@charter.net