Week 3 Running Water

William Moran

Physical Geology

Sunday, November 8

Running Water

    Every year around the August-September time-frame I head out to California on a fishing and camping expedition with 4 to 5 guys that I served in the military with. We head out to the beautiful Sierra Nevada', specifically, Sequoia National Forest- close to Kernville. Most of our days consist of fishing on the Kern River trying to catch rainbow, golden, and brown trout. When we max out on our limit for the day or get tired of not catching anything, we usually set out for a hike somewhere off the beaten path where we are out of cell reception and the only way to navigate is by the maps that I have curated. 

    At any point when standing on the bank you'll be surrounded by giant Sequoias or Ponderosa Pines. Giant Granite boulders are jutting out of the river at every point as the river meanders and the water flows from North to South, which is unusual since most of the Sierra rivers have an east to west flow. The southernmost major water system of the Sierra Nevadas, the Kern is 165 miles long and is fed by snowmelt from Mount Whitney. With high elevations, you would think the Kern river canyons were made by the erosional forces of the river when in fact they were formed by tectonic forces. The Farallon Plate was subducted under the North American plate to form the canyons. Intrusive rocks make up most of the rock along the river, there is also metasedimentary rocks along with limestone dikes. The upper slopes and alluvial basins soil is made up of decomposed granite bedrock which is noticeable when fishing or swimming anywhere in the river. 

    I spend most of my time on the upper Kern, North of Lake Isabella at Goldledge Campground. When not fishing or at the campgrounds I can be found wandering the Golden Trout Wilderness or more recently the Domeland Wilderness. This past year I went approximately 75 miles North of my camp to see the beautiful forks of the Kern River. What I also came across on my drive/hike down to the forks was a USGS reference marker about 100 feet away from one of the legs of the river. Generally, these marks are used for geodetic or land surveying, they were also placed to help with triangulation efforts. These surveys and benchmarks have helped with map-making all over the country and world. There is so much to explore in Sequoia National Forest but watching the flow of the Kern has to be one of my favorite things to do. The river has so much to offer, whether that is fishing or white water rafting every day can be different if you choose.         

USGS Reference mark found at the Forks of the Kern.

Upper Kern River View from close to the Needles, 

A series of massive granite rock formations.

I'm standing at the exact point of where the forks join. 

Water levels were extremely low this year and were 

visible due to debris in the surrounding trees and shrubs.