Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/12/08

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Subject: [Leica] IMG; Croton Dam pictures
From: ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter)
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 2009 14:26:50 -0500
References: <6a7544a60912081103m1362d851ob106fa47aaea6da2@mail.gmail.com>

what a pretty piece of engineering

the water must be incredibly well-aerated downstream.

nice photos.

ric

On Dec 8, 2009, at 2:03 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> Somehow my browzer screwed up the URLs on the last post. I'll try again.
> Larry Z
> 
> I'm hardly as avid a biker as Nathan but during the summer months I ride
> the hills and small roads of my neighborhood for a modicum of exercise.
> Generally I carry a small P&S camera in my saddle bag in case I run across
> an interesting sight. As I was putting the bike away for the winter I found
> that I had not downloaded many of the pictures taken over the last two
> years. The battery was dead flat but I could still pull the images off the
> chip.
> 
> If you are in or near New York you don't have to travel to China or Egypt 
> to
> see man made wonders of the world. The New Croton Dam, part of the New York
> water supply system, stretches across the Croton River about 22 miles
> (35 km) north of New York City. This dam is the third largest cut stone
> structure in the world, exceeded only by the Great Wall of China and the
> Great Pyramid of Giza. A gravity aqueduct carries the water 40 miles from
> Croton to the aqueduct lake in Central Park.  It's downhill all the way. 
> You
> can still walk the Aqueduct Trail stretching from the dam to the city. Or
> bike it or ski it depending on the weather.
> 
> Italian stone cutters were hired enmasse to build the dam. Many brought
> their families with them or married local girls and remained in the area
> after the work was completed. Quite a few were closet sculptors and
> painters. The village of Croton-on-Hudson acquired a reputation as a free
> thinking art center. It was also a hotbed of pre-WWI radicalism. Many of 
> our
> native born socialists and Communists, including Max Eastman, Daily Worker
> editor Robert Minor, and John Reed, author of "Ten Days that Shook the
> World," lived in Croton. Today, however, it tends to vote Republican.
> 
> I usually bike to the dam on very nice days or just after a torrential
> rainfall. In beautiful weather the park at the base of the dam is a 
> pleasant
> place to relax. Just after a heavy rainfall, the overflow from the spillway
> makes Niagara Falls look wimpy (an exaggeration - but not by much). The
> Croton River below the dam is one of the best trout streams in a state 
> known
> for good fishing.
> 
> 
> This is an exhausted me with my bike. The picture was taken a while back. I
> have a beard now.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/1_+Tired+biker_+Larry+Z.jpg.html
> 
> The dam on a nice fall day.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/2+_Croton+Dam+in+Fall.jpg.html
> 
> The Croton Gorge. The dam overflow runs to the Hudson River.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/3_+Croton+Gorge.jpg.html
> 
> Croton Park. A favorite picnic spot to the sound of rushing water.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/4_+Croton+dam+park+2.JPG.html
> 
> Motorcycles too.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/5_+Croton+dam+park+5.JPG.html
> 
> The dam is much larger than it looks from the front. The spillway stretches
> over a mile and impounds the Croton reservoir.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/6_+Croton+Dam+spillway.jpg.html
> 
> Spring rains send a torrent of water over the dam, flooding the gorge.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/7_+Croton+dam+spring+flood.JPG.html
> 
> The overflow is spectacular. Almost century ago these waters were ducted to
> turbines within the dam to generate electricity for the community. There is
> talk of refurbishing them for green power.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/8_+Croton+Dam+overflow.JPG.html
> 
> A view from the bridge over the gorge.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/9_+Croton+dam+view.JPG.html
> 
> The waters downstream of the dam provide some of the best trout fishing in 
> a
> state know for good trout streams.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/10_+Croton+dam+fishing+2.JPG.html
> 
> Got one!
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/11_+Croton+dam+fishing+1.JPG.html
> 
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In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin) ([Leica] IMG; Croton Dam pictures)