Turbidity Current in Navajo Canyon

I concur with the geomorphologists that you consulted with. This is probably an underwater landslip caused by a slope failure at the downstream end of an overly steepend sediment delta that has built up in the San Juan arm. A whole bunch of mud redistributing itself further down-channel in a rather abrupt fashion.
 
I remember back in 2021 seeing this while under water. Granted, the video appears to be a much faster current than I experienced.

svivian

Post in thread 'October 8-11th 2021 BF to Tapestry'

Water was dirty for diving standards for Powell but interesting for sure. There were areas of perfect clear water as what looked liked thunder clouds of dirt rolled through them. Never seen that before underwater…
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I had a friend who actually spent years illegally living on the lake; he observed a lot of things here. He swore that the stiff rogue waves I would sometimes encounter while way up lake all alone with no one around for miles were from seismic events, small earth quakes, mini tsunami’s.

I was polite and nodded my head but thought that since he was originally from the Bay Area that he was paranoid about quakes. Then I was reading about the geology of Powell and the author said that the sheer weight of all the water in the reservoir and the sedimentary nature of the substrates leads to settling, small earth quakes and rogue mini tidal waves. I was stunned 😳

Wonder if this could be caused by underwater movement like that? I’m going with that or invisible skin walkers known by the local indigenous people to be active in the area.
 
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Marina Bum said:
I had a friend who actually spent years illegally living on the lake; he observed a lot of things here. He swore that the stiff rogue waves I would sometimes encounter while way up lake all alone with no one around for miles were from seismic events, small earth quakes, mini tsunami’s.

I was polite and nodded my head but thought that since he was originally from the Bay Area that he was paranoid about quakes. Then I was reading about the geology of Powell and the author said that the sheer weight of all the water in the reservoir and the sedimentary nature of the substrates leads to settling, small earth quakes and rogue mini tidal waves. I was stunned 😳

Wonder if this could be caused by underwater movement like that? I’m going with that or invisible skin walkers known by the local indigenous people to be active in the area.
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"I had a friend who actually spent years illegally living on the lake"

This could be interesting, can you share more details about this?
 
Wow awesome video and very informative, kudos to all those participated in the in production of this. Now let’s get back to the snow dance!
 
bk2drvr said:
"I had a friend who actually spent years illegally living on the lake"

This could be interesting, can you share more details about this?
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Anyone remember the “Dream Boat”? it was docked at Wahweap in the 80’s as I remember an elderly couple live there full-time
 
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I don’t want to hijack this cool post but the lake has seen many people over the years who cruise past the 15 day a year limit. A pre-requisite to that seems to be that you must be a super good citizen, you keep it clean and inconspicuous, and don’t brag about it or PS may come calling. Some regulars were out writing books and reporting on conditions on the lake; Guys like Michael Kelsey or Stan Jones would come to mind. (Their research probably took years)

There was even a Docent Program I’ve known some to have participated in where PS would sign people up to be docents and fly a special flag indicating they knew something and were out there to be helpful. Those folks were allowed to stay out months at a time in the same premium spots and were even reimbursed with a nice monthly fuel stipend for volunteering.

I’ve tried looking that program up on GCNRA’s website but couldn’t find any info on it these days. The last folks I knew to have participate in the Docent Program did so pre-COVID. It was great for retired folks who wanted to spend months on the lake. I think if you spend enough time out there you’ll see things you’ve never seen before or maybe cant explain like in the video Kona Kai shared.
 
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Marina Bum said:
I don’t want to hijack this cool post but the lake has seen many people over the years who cruise past the 15 day a year limit.
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Probably an interesting discussion (in a new thread). One correction, the Superintendent's Compendium lists the limit as 30 days annually - with a 14-day limit for consecutive days (in a single location). And there are some exceptions, for example, a moored houseboat is granted an additional 30 days annually.
 
Hmmm - Kelsey Kelsey Kelsey - IMO the first thing I think of is a super cheap poor writer who has a higher focus on self and ego and profit over reader / client enjoyment.


Look at any of his books - they should have 1/3 the content or should be printed as three books in order to have the text big enough to actually read it. Any competent editor would have never approved this sloppy mess to go to print. LOL how many hundred of times he reminds the reader that the author wrote that.


Years ago our trails crossed and he had a lot of enthusiasm and questions including the location of a special thing at lake Powell. I knew he was going to publish it as he has no care for protection so I basically told him to F-O. I have no respect for this guy. Dig a little deeper…


Before social media ruined all the cool unknown spots in the wild, there was Kelsey - Kelsey did it first… well NG was technically first for kiss and tell.


In terms of how much time Kelsey spent at Powell for his mistitled book, it was not very long - and he had a super small boat when he did it, like a 14 footer. How dumb is this, doing an edge to edge research trip in a boat that small. I would have picked a small boatel with storm hardened DNA or a large tritoon with weather protections and shade. I expected this guy to have a jacked up land cruiser, or a badass Jeep but I think he did all his non lake travels from a beat up VW rabbit.


In terms of time on lake, I have NEVER EVER heard of NPS booting someone even though there have been a few camps screaming for attention with cheap people parking their uninhabited boats all over south lake to avoid paying for a ball or slip or launch. There are people who live full time 365 on their boats in slips, and there are a lot of single owner enthusiasts who openly spend a hundred days or more each year in the slips and on the water. I think this rule is more for having a published rule to lean on if the guests becomes unwelcome.


.
 
svivian said:
Lake powell most certainly has a thermocline, the depth of it just depends on the time of year.
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wouldn't all large bodies of water, partially because of an inherent insulating effect , have some 'level' (bad pun) of a thermocline?

:unsure:

in the years my brother & I were scuba diving.....after a dive we'd always discuss the depth we felt it....was food for thought
 
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