Canyon Lake was constructed because the channels upriver could hold much more water than those below. The earthen dam took six years to make, and another four years for water to rise to the desired height.
The fixture jutting into the lake controls the rate at which water is released to the lower Guadalupe River Basin.
In 2002, thirty-four inches of rain fell in one week. The lake rose faster than the dam could safely release the water downstream. During the next week, somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 times the normal volume of the lake washed over this area, and made its own way toward the lower Guadalupe Basin.
From above, the area looks relatively flat, untouched.
But walk down into it, and you realize what all that water did to the nearby land.
It tore through ground, savaged the hillside, and eroded millions of years of geologic history. (Not to mention what it did to homes and businesses downstream).
Humans created something beautiful, useful, and beneficial in Canyon Lake, but it took us an entire decade. In one week, Mother Nature told us what she thought of our achievement.
Like I said last month, all mothers deserve respect.
Dragon Dave
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