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KRIS Russian River: Picture Page
Area | Sulphur Creek |
Topic | Tour: Little Sulphur Creek Watershed Vegetation |
Click on image to enlarge (127K). Geyser Peak, an old remnant of volcanic activity, stands like a sentinel on the north side of Little Sulphur Creek. Photo taken looking north off the Geysers Road. Native oak and grasslands blanket the hillsides in the foreground but chaparral covers the mountainside. Little Sulphur Creek is in the draw between the hills in he foreground and Geyser Peak. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
The hot, sun-facing slope of Geyser Peak supports trees only in draws where there is more moisture. The shoulders of the rocky peak are so dry that only drought adapted shrubs can survive. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
Looking east up the canyon of lower Little Sulphur Creek off the Geysers Road, conifers grow in the shade of the canyon and on the north facing slopes at right. Uplands in the distance are chaparral. Drought adapted pines, madrone and shrubs are in the near ground. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
Looking northwest off Geysers Road, basalt dikes from old volcanic activity form the canyon walls of lower Little Sulphur Creek. The red bark of Manzanita frames the picture at left. Oaks are much more abundant than conifers in this view which shows mostly sun facing slopes.
This photo was taken from the Geysers Road on the south side of the Little Sulphur Creek canyon looking north at Geyser Peak. The grey soil extending linearly up the far side of the canyon likely reflects former vents similar to the Geysers, which are just east of here. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
Looking northeast across the Little Sulphur Creek canyon at tributaries draining hot, dry chaparral, but note the conifers and oaks in the draws. The Geysers Road is barely visible at the top of the ridge at right, where it crosses into the North Branch of Sulphur Creek. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
Looking south up the canyon of Little Sulphur Creek, the hills are covered with chaparral but conifers and oaks grow in the valley where the creek provides more moisture. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
This photo shows a headwater tributary of Little Sulphur Creek along the Geysers Road on the east side of the valley. Hardwoods such as bay grow here in the draw but the adjacent uplands are chaparral. Photo by Patrick Higgins taken on July 15, 2003.
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