This video – recorded between 1830 and 1900 hours on 3 September 2007 – depicts flooding in the Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States along Koala Road near the desert community of Adelanto in San Bernardino County, California.
The runoff depicted in this video was probably the result of a somewhat high-intensity precipitation event produced by a thunderstorm that occurred some miles (kilometers) away from Koala Road. The runoff may have generated a sheet of water known as ‘overland flow’ which eventually found its way into the nameless channel shown here.
This particular channel flows in a generally northerly direction draining a portion of Baldy Mesa and the sedimentary geomorphic surface known as the Victorville Apron located more than 10 miles (~16 kilometers) to the south of Adelanto. The channel is a tributary to a much larger stream channel called Fremont Wash. Fremont Wash funnels runoff from channels draining the Victorville Apron/Baldy Mesa area as well as east-flowing channels draining the Shadow Mountains located to the northwest of Adelanto. Fremont Wash is a tributary to the allogenic Mojave River – the main stem stream for this part of the Mojave Desert. Fremont Wash flows in a generally northeasterly direction forming a confluence with the Mojave River near the community of Helendale. Helendale is located on old Highway 66 in San Bernardino County, California.
The stream channel shown in this video is just one of thousands of nameless channels in the Mojave Desert in which water flows only when there is sufficient hydrologic input. Though common enough features in desert landscapes around the world, such stream channels may be dry for years or even decades at a time. Streams with such an unprecitable, non-seasonal flow regime are referred to as “ephemeral” streams.
It is common in deserts for the runoff generated by a storm in one area to flow across the desert for great distances (many miles/kilometers) to fill a stream channel in an area where no rain is falling. Such was the case with the runoff shown in this video: No rain was falling in the area where this video was recorded.
TECHNICAL:
Equipment | video function on a Canon PowerShot A630. Camera was hand held (unfortunately).
Editing | Windows Movie Maker.
Duration : 0:3:17
[youtube hRP9k3iJa4E]
Tags: Adelanto, California, desert, discharge, flood, mojave, runoff, stream, Thunderstorm
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