The river water that washed over this old tree stump froze. This is very rare in the area where we live. The Mashel river is fast moving and in eleven years we have loved here it's the first time I have seen it frozen in spots. The large stumps and log jams are placed along the river to provide shelter for spawning salmon. The salmon in this year are protected - fishing not allowed. We watch them spawning between September and December. Coho should be running but sadly, we have not seen any this year.
Please view large.
This river gets run-off from snow melt on Mt Rainier in spring and feeds into the Nisqually.
@taffy - thanks Taffy - it isn't even a falls - just a stump that must be six feet or so from the surface of the river - I have never seen anything like it. @swilde - thanks Sue. It warmed up to 40 degrees F this afternoon so it will likely melt soon but it has been very cold.
What a great shot - I have never seen this either, though I have noticed some local rivers looking a bit frosty. You are so lucky to have captured this, and I'm sure it was a bit cold doing so!
@maggiemae - thanks so much for looking and fav-ing Maggiemae. It was a bit tricky - I was on the bridge above the river and there is no shoulder - so I had to wait until there was no traffic and balance my camera on the cement wall. My fingers were pretty frozen. Wish I had my tripod with me.
@swilde - thanks Sue. It warmed up to 40 degrees F this afternoon so it will likely melt soon but it has been very cold.
@cindy_k - thanks, Cindy - yes - it really is unusual for us! Fun to see it.