Pond (Portland, Oregon)

Comments

• 
  CSPartner01

  This is a vernal pond (a pond that is full in spring- but in this case in winter and spring). Used to be on a trail, but after the new reservoir was installed and many of the trails were re-routed the trail here was decommissioned, presumably to avoid disturbance to an amphibian breeding area. The trail now loops around to the east, and the area it encloses is a nesting area for ground-nesting bird species such as Savannah Sparrows and Killdeer. Please keep your dogs on the leash! I believe it is due to the unusual geology (magmatic intrusion underneath that baked the overlying sediments into a non-permeable aquitard) that, in the wet season, there is an unusual amount of running and standing water on top of this big hill. Aside from the two 50-million gallon underground water reservoirs, that is. Wonderful spot, bring binoculars and stay on the trail.

  9 years ago | reply | hide comment