Still poking through pictures of the 1967 flood

[layla]

Fairbanks from the air in 1967. All those houses surrounded by water ...! The actual river channel can be seen vaguely in the background, behind the tall buildings downtown. (Another website tells me that the flooded area was about five miles wide, and encompassed very nearly the whole town.)

Grocery shopping in canoes. At least they're taking it fairly well.

Article on the Chena Flood Project that (hopefully) prevents it from happening again.

There's also a somewhat goofily touristy slideshow on the Army Corps of Engineers website explaining the flood project and the resulting lake and park. "Genuine imported sand" on the beach at the lake ... hee!

Comments

[pamola.livejournal.com]

So does the Army Corp actually keep your levees up, or have they (the levees) fallen into the same disrepair as the Army Corps projects down in the lower 48?

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

The levees are actually in pretty good shape -- at least at this point. I guess we'll have to see what they look like in a decade or two, though...

[acoustic-rob.livejournal.com]

"Genuine imported sand"

As opposed to all that crummy local sand?

[pamola.livejournal.com]

well being a Army corps job, they probably have a standard for "beach sand" which local sand won't meet unless cleaned. It is generally cheaper to bring in sand. There are a number of places that generally don't have beach sand on the beaches. If you see a beach in the arm pit of Florida (Crystal River up to Tallahassie) it is imported. That area of the coast geologically doesn't have large sand beaches.

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's kind of cool to know! I just assumed it was because we don't really have any local sand -- silt and mud, yes; sand, no. In fact, none of the beaches where I've been in Alaska have sand.

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Precisely! (You should see our local sand, and you'll see why they imported it. Fairbanks is a swamp.)

[naye]

Eek, yes. I can see why they wouldn't want that happening again! (Hee at "genuine imported sand", and awww at the little duckling. ♥)

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

The duckling is SO cute! :D