We did a hike recently to an area near Payson, AZ, called Fossil Creek. There's a good deal of interesting history in the area, though it can be difficult to come by an accruate account of what happened here. I finally found some good info, and thought I'd share it here - since that's what the blog is for, afterall.
Fossil Creek is a intermittent stream for much of its length from the Mogollon Rim to the Verde River in the valley below. However, approximately 7 miles from the river, the grade breaks through a limestone formation which caps a pressurized underground water storage tank (water has drained from the much wetter rim country above). The water gushes out of nearly 70 separate springs, releasing as much as 20,000 gallons of water per minute down the 1600' deep canyon. Such a reliable, plentiful water source is very rare in the desert southwest, and at the start of the 20th century the growing industry of Arizona did what any burgeoning population would do with such an amazing resource: the dammed it. (For a detailed account of construction including the facinating story of the woman who drove the efforts, look here)
Now, there are many pluses to hydroelectric power generation. It does not emit harmful carbon dioxide, there is no radioactive waste to store, and Homer Simpson is unlikely to mess it up with his lust for donuts. However, it does pretty well mess up riparian ecosystems. The Childs Power Station, built in 1909, necessitated the damming of Fossil Creek and the creation of a flume to divert nearly all of the spring water 7 miles to the plant on the banks of the Verde River. In 1914, the Irving plant was constructed in the Fossil Creek canyon itself. The power from these plants was originally intended to drive growth in the booming mining towns of Gerome, Crown King and Prescott, though it eventually got sucked into the Phoenix valley, just like every other resource in the state.
Historic Photos of the Flume and the Childs Power Plant
from the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives
The Irving Power Plant today
The power plant at Childs had a few interesting side-effects on the area. A twisting, winding road was built along the edges of Fossil Creek canyon and down to the power plant, and at the end of the road, a small community sprang up to support the new industry. This included development by one Prescott businessman of a resort near a set of hot springs along the Verde river. Verde Hot Springs resort, in its heydey of the teens and 20's, was a luxurious resort, with a number of bathing pools, electricity and heated accommodations (quite posh, for a place that had only become a state a couple of years before!)
The Verde Hot Springs Resort circa 1930 from the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives
Looking north along the Verde River from the area near the hotsprings
Through the 30's and 40's, Childs, Verde Hot Springs and the Irving Plant continued to operate as examples of how darned ingenious people in the rugged Southwest were, and the ecology of Fossil Creek continued to, not really exist (well, okay, there was an ecosystem, but it was sort of not the one nature intended).
So, the resort failed in the early 50's during an evident lapse in the public interest in hot spring resorts (who knew?). After being closed for several years, and a couple of failed attempts to re-open, the hotel burned to the ground - leaving only a few cement soaking pools and a foundation. Evidently you can still hike to the springs, where you'll find lots of artistic graffiti, some good hot spring soakin', and likely a few naked people. Camping is available about 1 mile down stream from the springs, but the area is increasingly popular, so the unmaintained camping area is overrun with trash and toilet paper, and nearly all the dead wood small enough to carry or within arm's reach of the ground has been stripped and burned in drunken bonfires (wasn't me this time, I swear!).Environmental and native American groups continued to protest the travesty of the draining of Fossil Creek Canyon in the name of clean power. Coincidentally (?), the flume and the generating facilities were becoming increasingly obsolete and expensive to maintain. One, or the other, or both spelled the end for the Childs and Irving plants. APS (Arizona Public Service, or Arizona Perpetual Screwups depending on who you ask) surrendered it's rights to the water in 1999, and created a 10 year plan for restoring the watercourse that's supposed to serve as a model for other such infrastructure dismantling projects. Invasive, non-native fish and amphibians were eliminated from the waters below the dam, and native fish and other species are on a strict recovery system (similar to 12 steps). The dam was supposed to be lowered 14 feet (hasn't happened yet), water flow restored (has happened) and the facilities dismantled (the flume is gone, as is the plant at Child's but not at Irving) by 2009. The system has turned a fun hike into a great hike, and really created another crystal-water wonderland here in Arizona.
Recreation flourishes at the Old Fossil Creek Dam
Old Equipment on the old dam
An old structure with a remnant garden near the dam
Post is getting long, you say, but you haven't even talked about travertine yet! Well, folks, like Havasu Falls on the Supai Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon, Fossil Creek is known for its crystal blue-green waters and gorgeous shelf-like waterfalls. The same agent is at work in both areas, and I'm not talking about one who takes 20% off the top. I'm talking limestone here - the kind that gets dissolved underground in that big, pressurized storage tank I talked about earlier, and then gets deposited along the course of the stream as it flows on the surface. This creates Travertine - a whitish mineral deposit which coats every rock, tree limb and leaf that sits too long in the pools. I think there could be a tourist or two in there as well. To make a long story short (too late), the white of the travertine reflects light through the clear water and poof, you have the gorgeous pools and waterfalls we see today (note that this white coating is also what makes Carribean and Polynesian beaches that same blue-green color, only it's sand instead of travertine)
The restored Fossil Creek - after 100 years of running dry, the ecosystem is slowly recovering.
So, there you have it. In a nut shell: how Arizona was cool, uncool, and then took a step to being cooler. Awsome.
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