Before the Flood

The Colorado Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles long. The headwaters of the River begin in Forest... more

by Jon Burch Photography

Title

Before the Flood

Artist

Jon Burch Photography

Medium

Photograph - Digital Capture And Enhancement

Description

The Colorado Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles long. The headwaters of the River begin in Forest Canyon within Rocky Mountain National Park in Larimer County. The river flows east through Moraine Park to the town of Estes Park where it is held in Lake Estes by the Olympus Dam before being released into the Big Thompson Canyon. The North Fork Big Thompson River also begins in Rocky Mountain National Park, on the northern slopes of the Mummy Range. This tributary flows east, through the town of Glen Haven where it merges with the Big Thompson River in the town of Drake.

It's called a 'Flood Plain' for a reason. This means that if you are in, or live in the area where a river overflows its banks, you and/or your possessions are going to get wet. That's just what happened in northern Colorado in September of 2013. The Big Thompson River did what it does every so often and as a consequence, Highway 34 from Loveland to Estes Park, Colorado was history for several months.

People in Colorado have seen two "100 year" floods in the past 37 years, the big one in the Big Thompson Canyon back in 1976 and a still bigger one that crippled the area in the fall of 2013.

Some digital effects were added to the image after the original photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during this transition...

Image copyright 2014 Jon Burch Photography

Uploaded

April 4th, 2014