They say a picture
is
worth
a
thousand
words, but I don’t feel that any photograph of the Tuolumne River can convey my feelings about this place. As a scientist, I have enjoyed discovering the intricacies of this ecosystem. And as a girl who grew up playing barefoot in creeks and woods, I have loved this chance to explore a new river canyon. As my attempt to communicate my reflections about the Tuolumne River and the Ecogeomorphology course, I created this word map with words taken from a journal entry. The entry I used here focused on my awe at the interweaving of physical and biological processes within the river ecosystem, and my observations of the power, grace, and persistence of the Tuolumne River and its tributaries. Over the last twelve weeks, I have learned about how water and time can shape a canyon, and how, in turn, that canyon shapes the river channel. These processes form the spatially and temporally heterogeneous template on which the riparian and aquatic ecosystems have evolved. Most importantly though, I’ve found that as my knowledge of the patterns and processes of the system increase so does my wonder and appreciation. It is this complexity and wonder that I’ve tried to communicate through the image above.