A6 SUNDAY,AUGUST 16,2009 FROM THE FRONT PAGE  THE REPUBLIC Canyon’s waterfall jewel shines again The waterfalls of S INY E The flash flood of Havasu Canyon one year ago reshaped the LLA idyllic area by carving anew streambed, toppling cottonwood trees, ME swallowing bridges and tossing boulders aside. S A A Supai Falls Sinyella Mtn. This waterfall, immediately below Supai, is now about 75 feet high. Ranger station B Navajo Falls Before the flood changed the stream E flows channel, this was among the most into the Colorado River. Map popular waterfalls. Now it is dry. area

on C Havasu Falls (pictured below) y n a Just above the camping area, this waterfall Phoenix C now shoots water from asingle spout. Traver- er v UTAH a tine pools below were destroyed but already e B D are reforming with help from sandbags. 389 Page NEVADA Frredoniaedonia 15 C 67 Lake e r 89 R iv Mead d o Grand B lora Co Canyon Las A Vegas

Supai

H a v a s New waterfall created u 1905 1994 C r This waterfall, about 30 feet high, e e was created when the stream k FALLS changed course. The Havasupai Continued from A1 Tribal Council has not yet given it an official name, so it is variously Despite the lingering flood known as Rock Falls, Emerald Falls, damage and altered landscape, Slide Falls and Unnamed Falls. guests are uniformly spell- bound. “I come down almost every year,” Ruth McDaniel, 53, of San Trail Diego, said this month. “I love it so much. And I don’t love it any 2009 less now.” jor damage. Tribal maps, handed HAVASUPAI The flash flood, spawned by out to about 25,000 visitors each D Mooney Falls monsoon storms in Arizona’s year, still do not reflect the RESERVATION This waterfall, about 200 feet high, Coconino Plateau country, changes. remains intact. Its pools are being restored. gushed into trib- utaries like a liquid bulldozer. It The rebuilding E Beaver Falls These cascading dropoffs, about swallowed hiking trails, under- Billy Jack, the Havasupai Hilltop mined a cemetery and killed tourism director, said damage 2miles downstream from the camp area, hundreds of statuesque shade was estimated at $4 million, not were not severely impacted by the flooding. trees in the campground. counting aesthetic losses. Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection About 250 tourists in the With help from volunteers ANDREW LONG/THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC campground were warned in the and contributors around the afternoon of a possible flood, but world, tribal members spent 10 no one anticipated the brown months rebuilding. wave that struck around mid- Stream banks have been forti- night. fied, pools recreated, trails re- Some climbed trees. Others routed. Flood gauges upstream sloshed to high ground. are linked to an early-warning Miraculously, there were no system in the village. deaths or serious injuries. Heli- Since the reservation reo- copters plucked campers from pened to visitors June 1, life safe perches as they marveled at seems back to normal, and tribal nature’s destructive power. members regard the damage Greg Fisk, supervisory hydro- with a sense of geological equa- logical technician with the U.S. nimity. Geological Survey, said more “Most of the people say it’s re- than 6 inches of rainfall up- ally sad now, and it is when you stream sent a roiling mass see Navajo Falls,” said Suzanna through normally dry channels. Siyuja, the assistant tourism di- Near Supai, Havasu Creek’s flow rector. “But, traditionally, we’re surged more than ninetyfold, kind of used to this.” from a normal 65 cubic feet per Siyuja said she understands second, to 6,000. that some may mistakenly view While there have been much aflood as destructive, even un- larger inundations, Fisk said, natural. Then she laughed, not- canyon conditions made this ing, “We have people who come one hit with devastating force. here and ask, ‘Are the waterfalls Floodwaters carved a new on right now? What time do they streambed, toppled magnificent turn them off?’ ” ash and cottonwood trees, up- Change is inevitable and con- PAT SHANNAHAN/THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC stant, she added, even in a road- rooted bridges, and tossed RV- At 200 feet high, Mooney Falls looms larger even than Niagara. About 25,000 visitors each year journey sized boulders aside. less chasm that was formed over to Havasupai to see the network of blue-green waterfalls. The first icon, known as 50- eons. Foot Falls, became 75 feet high. Meanwhile, Havasu Creek Adetour left the famed Na- has regained its legendary tur- planned to cool off in Navajo logical Survey, “When the Blue most recent flood as a catharsis vajo Falls high and dry but cre- quoise hue, the color of a resort- Falls after completing the 9-mile Green Waters Turn Red,” says and a “blessing.” ated a new landmark with no of- hotel swimming pool. trek from atop the Coconino Havasupai endured at least 14 “In my opinion, there was no ficial name. Known variously as New deposits of calcium car- Plateau. “We were looking and significant floods during the damage,” Lowe said. “I think it’s Rock Falls, Emerald Falls or Un- bonate, known as travertine, al- looking for it, but it was gone,” 20th century and many more go- beautiful, forever cleansing.” named Falls, this is where Lutt- ready are reforming coral-like added Rains, swimming instead ing back thousands of years. “I was really kind of excited to man took his refreshing dive. pools with help from strategi- at Havasu Falls. “But it’s still The report contains photo- see nature doing its thing,” Further downstream, Havasu cally placed sandbags. great here. I still love it.” graphic documentation that the agreed Brian Jump, another tour Falls now features a single spout Visitors interviewed earlier Gail Brown, 53, a Delta, Ohio, creek behaves like a writhing guide. “It’s a dynamic place.” of whitewater rather than the this month said the canyon resident on her sixth visit to Ha- snake that spastically shifts loca- Alvina Rosales, a 43-year-old veiled spray or double flume scene remains awesome, albeit vasupai, played poker with fam- tions over time. Navajo visitor from Tuba City, captured in thousands of photo- different. ily members while sitting at a More proof abounds through- cooled in the 70-degree mist graphs over the past century. Kelene Johnson, 22, of Hen- picnic table half-submerged in out the canyon: Ancient traver- from Mooney Falls and spoke of Finally, a network of mini derson, Nev., waded into a pool the creek, a picturesque remind- tine formations hang stalactite- elders who view flooding as a lagoons was blown away at the beneath Mooney Falls after ne- er of flood damage. like from cliffs along long-dry sort of rebirth. base of Mooney Falls, which at gotiating the spooky descent on “It’s way different now,” stream channels. Mineral for- “It’s starting over,” she said. 200 feet looms higher than atrail that spirals through rock Brown conceded. “But it’s still mations formed by water eons “We talked with the local peo- Niagara Falls. tunnels. “I mean, this is like the just so beautiful.” ago are now home to prickly ple, and they said, ‘Well, it’s the Villagers in Supai, arguably coolest place ever,” she gushed. pear cactuses. womb of Mother Earth.’ The the most remote community in David Rains, a 44-year-old ‘Forever cleansing’ Mike Lowe, who leads tours power it has, you’ve got to re- the lower 48 states, escaped ma- from Corona, Calif., said he A1996 study by the U.S. Geo- into Havasupai, described the spect it.”

ISOLATED, INCOMPARABLE DESTINATION THE TRIBE VISITING HAVASUPAI WEB SITES OF INTEREST Tribal name: Written in the native language as Rooms and campground spaces at Havasupai are typically About the tribe and 360-degree photographs Havasuw ‘Baaja,the name means people of the filled months in advance. Reservations must be made by its tourism opportunities: of the waterfalls: blue-green water. phone. www.havasupaitribe.com www.azcentral.com/ Population: 650enrolled members, about 450of www.grandcanyon flash/panos/havasupaifalls: Entrance fee: $35per person, Lodge fee: $145 nightly for treks.org/supai.htm them living in Supai. discounted 50 percent for up to four people, plus a $40 Location: Grand Canyon, 64 milesnorth of Peach children under 13. deposit. Pictures and accounts Springs,Ariz. Environmental fee: $5 per Horseback entry, use of of the flood: Access: The village of Supai is 2,000 feet below the person, refunded for those pack mules: $93.50each for ourstory.havasupaiflood canyon rim, reachable only via a steep, 8-mile who haul out two bags of one way, $187round trip. .com hiking and mule trail, or by helicopter. trash. Helicopter service: $85 per youtube.com: Video of Tribal language: Pai. Campground reservations: person, one way. flooding and damage view- Primary employment: Tourism. 928-448-2121, 928- 448- Helicopter reservations: able by searching Havasu- 2141, 928-448-2174 or 928- Number of annual visitors: About 25,000. Airwest Helicopters, 623- pai AND flood 448-2180. 516-2790. History: Havasupai have resided in the canyon pubs.water.usgs. Campground fee: $17nightly more than 1,000 years. In 1919 the tribe was Source: www.havasupaitribe.com; gov/wri964059: A federal per person, discounted by restricted to an area of just 518 acres. The reserva- Tourism Director Billy Jack. study titled "When the half for children. tion was expanded to 188,077 acres of indigenous Prospective visitors should refer to the Blue-Green Waters Turn lands in the 1970s. Lodge reservations: 928- Web site for additional details. Red" 448-2111 or 928-448-2201.