Edgar McGregor is a climatology senior at San Jose State University. He has collected litter from Eaton Canyon and other natural areas for over 1,400 days. Edgar's climate activist #EarthCleanUp account on Twitter has over 35,000 followers.
Save for the occasional yellow and orange Sycamore, autumn is a rather dull season in Eaton Canyon. Capturing fantastic landscape shots of the area is more difficult than usual, especially if you are looking for that diversity in color. However, on December 22nd, 2023, a quickly departing thunderstorm moving opposite of the late morning sun put on a spectacular show across the canyon. One of the most stunning and perfectly timed rainbows sat within the canyon for a whopping 8 minutes, allowing for multiple incredible photographs.
This past autumn, the Eaton Canyon Nature Center embarked on a new mini-project within the canyon to fix erosion caused by Tropical Storm Hilary and prevent more erosion from future storms. Following the repavement of the main parking lot that sent water flowing in new directions, heavy rains would significantly erode the decomposed granite trail connecting the staff parking lot to the main walkway in front of the Nature Center. This erosion would create a hazard for visitors, and something needed to change. Instead of placing unsightly sandbags, the nature center dug a 20′ long, 1′ deep trench in the ground to serve as a swale.
The swale can easily begin to pool water even after a light rain shower
A swale is a landscape feature designed to manage stormwater runoff by gently sloping a tract of land to create a shallow, vegetated channel. It serves to capture, slow down, and absorb rainwater, allowing it to infiltrate the soil rather than running off. Swales prevent erosion, filter pollutants, and help recharge groundwater, serving as an eco-friendly method of water management in both urban and rural settings. The longer the swale exists, the more efficient it is at absorbing water.
Runoff from the upper main parking lot flowing directly towards the new swale Water accumulating in the swale
With only four-fifths of an inch of rain over the past 3 months, the flora and fauna of Eaton Canyon are eagerly awaiting the onset of winter 2024. Back to back wetter than average winters in this region are very rare, with only six occurring the past eleven decades. As El Niño sets up in the equatorial East Pacific, hopes are high that a seventh such miracle will occur. As of December 1, 2023, Eaton Creek is flowing throughout 58.3% of the park, or 1.30 miles of the 2.23 mile journey. If you think it’s been dry recently, you aren’t imagining things. The 2024 water year is ranked 100 out of 120 years for the wettest start to a water year in old town Pasadena.
2024 Water Year Progress To Reach Average
4%
Early indications show our bad luck will end around the 4th week of December, and 2024 will in fact be a wetter than average winter. A powerful jet stream in the open Pacific is expected to annihilate the ridge of high pressure blocking storms from hitting California around the solstice. This will open to the door for multiple powerful storm systems to slam into the Golden State around the Christmas holiday. According the climatological records, how much rain falls between October and December has zero correlation with how much falls between January and March.
The map that follows shows where Eaton Creek is currently flowing below the main waterfall. Area with blue lines indicate active water flow, whereas areas with orange line indicate a dry creek bed.
This table shows how much of the creek bed from the main waterfall to the New York Dr. bridge was experiencing water flow for each month of 2023. We are slightly unsure of the September 1, 2023 numbers as the creek was drying up rapidly following the departure of Tropical Storm Hilary. All other months should be accurate, however. Photographic evidence of the lower wash around the Nature Center is appreciated.
