stretches of dry river bed

just returned from xmas visit to my family who live on the Darling ... sadly a chain of waterholes for miles both above and below Wilcannia. In between the waterholes are long stretches of completely dry river bed. It seems to be the driest ever seen on this Darling section of the Murray Darling Basin. This is a view of the river from the bridge at Wilcannia - a turgid, sad, green mess.

And another one showing the stretches of dry river bed - in between the waterholes.

Following are some comparison photos; Again more of my Stereo images (see previous posts on 'free viewing'). This one shows the totaly dry river bed - in a bend i have photographed since 1991 when we first saw the river a thin trickle of barely flowing water. Compare it to the last flood of 1998 to 2000, taken from a similar place .

Archway, December, 2006

Archway, December 2006

Archway, 1998 Flood

There is some good news - not all gloom n doom. The water quality is on the improve. With very little cotton being produced there are less insecticides, pesticides and fertilisers going into the river and the water is for the first time in ages pretty clear with beneficial river weed for fish and water. So far this season no outbreaks of hyperfertilised Blue-green algae.

Darling in flood. 1998

This stereo image and the one in previous post are taken from the same place (this one further back among trees as water was too deep where i had stood two years previously!). For this image i travelled up river in small dingy as the usual roads were covered with floodwater. It is fairly formidable - and such a buzz - when the water has reached the top of its banks and flows over the flat expanse of country on either side. There is an amazing volume of water and a view thru the trees into the surrounding country.

Scroll down for info on how to free view this image in Stereo!

For various reasons, mainly the huge extraction of water upstream from the Darling, 1998 to 1990 is the last time the Darling has seen such a flood

Stereo Effect - 'free viewing'

This is a stereo image of the beleagured Darling river. Yes .... if you slightly cross your eyes you will see three images. The central one is a combination of the other two and is stereo! Some of the foreground objects will leap (gently) off the screen towards you.

It can help you to see the stereo effect if you use your hands to block the two outside images - so you only see the central Stereo one! Sometimes you have to slightly tilt your head. Its working for me - hope you can see the effect!

Creating stereo effects without glasses or viewer, using the eye and the mind is called 'free viewing' and apparently increases the alpha waves in the brain!