Granite Falls Fish Ladder

Not so far from Snohomish is the small town of Granite Falls. It is farther north than Snohomish and farther east towards the mountains. Just outside this settlement is the granite waterfall for which the town is named.



To make the falls navigable for the salmon, a fish ladder was constructed along side of the river. While there is not much to see looking down through the grating at the fish ladder, unless you are a fish, the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River is a bit more interesting.

Since we've had some really warm days lately, I expected the river to be flowing well and I was not disappointed.

The far side of the river is a wall of the aforementioned granite. In front of me are granite boulders, the bottom of the river is filled with granite. This is indeed a granite waterfall.

You can see piled up along the turn of the river where it narrows a large pile of sizeable boulders.

All along the near shore are place where the water is running towards the river, some are actually flowing, others are not. Two of the more interesting spots are place where tiny waterfalls formed. The one below shows gauzy wisps of spray in the long exposure.

This rock ledge seems to be pouring honey in long strands down to the ground in this long exposure.

When I got close to Granite Falls (the town) it began to mist intermittently. By the time I got our of the car, it was a steady, gentle, Seattle-style rain. Not enough to really get you wet, just enough so that you notice. It continued this until I got in the car and drove back past Granite Falls (the town) on the way home, at which point the sun cam out and I saw blue sky. I guess the best way to see the granite falls (the waterfall) is when you are getting wet just as the great granite boulders are. At least that is the message I clearly got this afternoon.