Suwannee River - And the tide rises

High Tide on the Suwanee River

Who said only the ocean had tides?  Coastal rivers change with the ocean tides, that may be obvious.  But I believe inland rivers also have a high tide when the rain swells the river and a low tide when the water recedes.  I guess this is not technically true but coming from one who has spent most of her life near the ocean, it makes sense.

Sunrise at Low Tide
Anastasia State Park Beach

 To me this flood stuff is exciting business.  For some reason I took a photo of the Spring House (park map) at Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park a few days before the rains started.  

April 16, 2014

Then after two days of heavy rain there were Flood Watches and Flood Warnings.  At first I thought we would float away but quickly realized we are parked in a high area so the river would need to crest at an all time high to flood our current location.  

Fire Pit at our campsite
Still raining!

Now, that doesn't mean the ground is not damp and soggy after a good rain or that it dries quickly.  Recall in a flood situation the water table is high so the ground does stay damp.

As does the sign at the famous Ann Thomas Gazebo on the Suwanee River.  

Stairs leading the the Gazebo
Getting damp on April 20th

So over the next few days it became a mission to check the real-time river levels posted by the Suwannee River Water Management District 

Levels at White Springs
http://www.srwmd.state.fl.us/30DayRiverLevels/30DayRiverLevels.aspx?statid=62

Charts are fine but I also wanted to record the visual progress in pictures.

Spring House on April 20th

Spring House on April 24th
Now only the sign roof is visible

For the moment it appears the river has reached  it's peak at 81.63' here in White Springs but who can predict what will happen with Mother Nature?

Gazebo Stairs on April 24th
and the river still rises