Thursday, March 27, 2008

Springtime in Nevada: Rye Patch Reservoir

Rye Patch Reservoir, as seen from Interstate 80, looking to the northwest. A typical spring snow shower. Rye Patch, between Winnemucca and Lovelock, is a wide spot in the Humboldt River (above Rye Patch Dam), just before the Humboldt ends in the Humboldt Sink. On a few rare occasions, the Humboldt will fill the Humboldt Sink, flooding the two lane road between Lovelock and Fallon, and will then dump into the Carson Sink, joining the Carson River. Those years have been rare ones. The entire scenery, here along the west side of the Humboldt Range, was once mostly under water during ancient Lake Lahontan times, and the steps of ancient shorelines are everywhere.

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