Great Book: The Secret Knowledge of Water

[agostinone]

"There are two easy ways to die in the desert: thirst and drowning"--The Secret Knowledge of Water by Craig Childs.

One of my canyoneering buddies gave me the book. Great read, especially if you are a desert rat. The author is a researcher focused on water and floods in the desert. He starts of searching for small pockets of water in the Arizona desert--ounces to maybe a gallon of water. He progresses to tanks and spends some time at Powell's Tanks which have thousands of gallons of water. He slowly builds up to crawling around in canyons and slots to witness the lifecycle of what he calls a "fear of God" flash flood in a slot.

It's a mix of literary, almost poetic descriptions of the canyons, travel experiences and a lot of really cool science. At one point he explains, in layman's terms, how hydraulic jumps are responsible for the formation of potholes in the canyons.

[Iceaxe]

I read that book about 15 years ago.

[rockgremlin]

Well, I read that book about 20 years ago, while standing on my head.

[Iceaxe]

Well, I read that book about 20 years ago, while standing on my head.

The book was published in 2000 and written by Craig Childs who is an acquaintance of mine through canyoneering.

[bosco]

This was just recommended to me while down in the High Spur area by a buddy... I think I will just have to track down a copy now. Thanks for the encouraging posts!