Castle Rock Cut is closer than it has been  in the last 4 years to flooding and providing a shorter, softer and safer passage for boats heading up lake.  On June 20, 2007  the water level was 3611.27

Here the water laps at the edge of the final barrier preventing water connection between the two bays. On the Wahweap side there is a rocky ridge 2 feet high (about 3615.58 MSL) that prevents  water from advancing across the cut.    The shallowest cut follows the line of tamarisk trees forward and then to the right. The exposed white rock ridge on right in picture is higher than the actual barrier where water will first pass.  

June 20, 2007

Looking across the old dredged channel into Wahweap Bay we see that little brush growth has occurred in the middle of the land bridge. Tamarisk will not be hazard to navigation mid channel once the channel floods again.

June 20, 2007

Looking toward Warm Creek we see more tamarisk near the water edge where moisture has allowed brush to grow in previous years.  There is no ridge preventing water from flooding the cut from the Warm Creek side. Trees are small and will be of little consequence to navigation when the water fills enough to float a boat in the cut.. The cut will fill from Warm Creek first leaving just the last ridge near the Wahweap side for the final obstacle. This channel will be full when the water spills from Warm Creek into Wahweap.  

June 20, 2007

The cut on the Wahweap end shows the flat cut leading to the higher obstacle seen in the first picture.

The Cut is expected to flood in June 2008.

June 20, 2007

The Castle Rock Cut is dry due to low water. The sign here is a bit facetious.  I did use the Cut  today (7-1-05) but I had to walk.  From Wahweap to Warm Creek is not quite a half mile.  It took me 7 minutes at a brisk walk to get from one side to the other.

Notice the low spot to the left of the sign.  That is the 50 foot channel that was dredged back in the 90's.  My guess is that a lake elevation near 3616 will flood this channel once more.  

Looks like it will be 3615 to wet the channel. 3620 to float a boat. (Wayne 6-20-2007)

July 2005

It would take more water than that to float boats.  The common notion is that the cut will be operational for all boats at 3620.  A level we are not likely to see in 2005.

This picture is from the midpoint of the cut looking toward Warm Creek.

July 2005

This is from the same spot looking back toward Wahweap. Notice the tiny sign in the left background blending in with the blue water.  That is the warning sign seen in the first picture.

July 2005

The warning sign on the Warm Creek side of the cut is a diamond sign with no verbiage.

I will continue to request dredging of the CR Cut down to an elevation of 3600 feet. With the rapid lake level decline and rapid filling seen in 2005 NPS crews were stretched to the maximum to keep up with extending launch ramps and moving infrastructure. There was no way NPS could have taken on this additional project in spring 2005. There was Just not enough manpower.

July 2005