slgwv's photos with the keyword: pond

Looking back north. Note the submerged grass!

Not living up to its name this season! This is a shallow natural basin improbably situated on a ridge between the Thomas Creek and White's Creek drainages. Looking southwest. The left inset shows what the basin looked like in October 2014. The right inset shows a view of the pond looking back to the north (the photo position is marked with another note).

Well, that's what we're calling it, anyway, because some mustangs were hanging around. Apparently, however, it's officially unnamed. Anyway, this is another small closed basin in the Virginia Range, Nevada, that is holding an extraordinary amount of water this year due to the heavy rain and snow last season. It was completely dry in June 2009 (left inset) and May 2012 (middle inset), but contained a little water in February 2011 (right inset).

Small reservoir for watering stock, off the Greeley Crossing road in extreme northern Nevada. These small watering ponds are commonly called "tanks" in the western US. I've seen it alleged that this is a literal translation of Spanish "tinaja", but it could just be another survival of an older usage. According to the online etymology dictionary, "tank" meant pond originally. Lots of these little ponds dried up in the drought, so it's nice to see it holding water! It just catches the occasional runoff in this usually dry drainage. In fact, it was apparently dry when the satellite view was taken.

A beaver chilling out on the surface of a pond. Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.

Reese River, southern Toiyabe Range, Nevada. The dam is at the far end of the pond.

A small pond off the Pacific Crest Trail just south of Donner Summit, where I-80 crosses the Sierra Nevada, California. This album is on the short (~2.5 mile) section of the PCT between Donner Summit and Donner Pass proper, where old US-40 crosses. It's a popular area, not just for hiking but for skiing in the winter! There are several ski resorts right at the passes. And it's also the location of the original transcontinental railroad. So there's a bit of irony that this pass is the one the ill-fated Donner party was trying to reach. Map location is approximate.

Complete with drowned aspen. Big Sawmill Creek, Toiyabe Range, Nevada. On its way to join the Reese "River."

Thomas Creek, Ruby Mountains, Elko County, Nevada, USA. Position is _very_ approximate due to the loss of the satellite view!

Carson Range, Nevada, USA. A view back across the other way, more or less north. The odd-looking cloud beyond the immediate skyline ridge is smoke from the Hunter Creek fire, a few miles away. The pond is named for James E. Church, a prof at the University of Nevada. Over a hundred years ago he invented the technique of measuring the winter snowpack to forecast the following year's water supply.

Carson Range, Nevada, USA. This is actually a natural basin, for all its roughly square shape. The effect of the drought is (unfortunately) extremely obvious--the level should be up at the well-defined bathtub ring. It may well have dried up completely by now (August). The pond is named for James E. Church, a prof at the University of Nevada. Over a hundred years ago he invented the technique of measuring the winter snowpack to forecast the following year's water supply.

An irrigation storage pond on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, that is now mostly decorative (note the fountain on the right!). The high rise in the distance on the left is one of the hotel/casinos in downtown Reno. Manzanita (Spanish for "little apple," from its red berries) is a characteristic shrub of the Sierra Nevada and surrounding ranges.