Up until now, every one of my entries had covered one specific location. This is the first multi-location post I've made and that fact is sort of poking my OCD in the head with a pointy stick. Instead of a single point with a single lat/long, I'm dealing with three points on a non-straight line and three lat/longs (specifically three confluences involving 4 rivers). Not ONLY that, each separate location's gif cycles through a different number of images over unmatched lengths of time. It is complete chaos as far as neatness and consistency go.
Unfortunately, the only alternatives would have been to split this post into three separate posts (at my biweekly schedule, this would take up over a month) OR to cut out two of the locations and just go with one of them (but that would make this feature seem much less special).
And we're all about special.
This is why this post is called
Black River (Arkansas). Each feature here occurs at a confluence with the Black River in Arkansas. Starting upstream, this includes:
- The Black River and the Current River at Pocahontas, AR
- The Black River and the Spring River at Black Rock, AR
- The Black River and the White River at Jacksonport, AR
At each confluence, the two rivers coming together show two distinct colors. This isn't an uncommon occurrence considering many rivers travel through a variety of soils at different flow rates, pick up different run-off, and have different chemistries and biological features (all of which can change with the climate and seasons). It only makes sense that the color of each river would be somewhat different based on all of these factors. What I like about the Black River is the apparent misnomer. Firstly, it is not some exceptionally dark river or anything. I hear "Black River" and I expect this thing to look like a stream of crude oil. Secondly, with such distinctly colored confluences, I think this river really should have been called the "Prismatic River" or the "Earthy Hues River"; really anything other than "Black River" would have been better.
It's been a while since I've written so much in one post. I think most readers skip to the gifs right away, but if you've been reading all of this you must be quite the scholar and I thank you for hearing me out.
Black River and Current River:
Black River and Spring River:
Black River and White River:
You can find them yourself on Google Earth using these coords:
- 36°15'10" N 90°54'45" W
- 36°06'50" N 91°04'25" W
- 35°38'20" N 91°19'20" W
Check back for more in two weeks!
