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Praetorium Honoris

Monday, February 25, 2019

Water, Water Everywhere... *


Seems I forgot something while I was writing last week's post. Since I usually write Monday's Post on Sunday, that would have been February 17th.  That was an important date in my life. Mrs J is reminding me at this point "Not as important as September 4th or October 27th". (Our Anniversary and her Birthday, respectively) and she's right.


 40 years ago, when this picture was taken, Mom had pinned those wings on me just moments before.  A couple of things I thought of when I hit the insert button on this picture for the post.  First, Dang! I was skinny back then. (Although you wouldn't know it from the picture, I had hair back then also.)  Second, Dad was younger then than I am now.  That's a sobering thought especially when, in my mind, this didn't happen all that long ago. 

And...Yes, Sarge, that is quite likely the last time I ever wore a wheel hat.

Still that picture represented clearing the second hurdle en-route to my dream job.  (The first being, getting INTO Pilot Training.) So....a pleasant memory.


Source
WAAAYYY back in January, when Sarge was hosting Unterseeboot Week on the Chant Channel.  (Other "Weeks" include Skunk Week, Bayonet Week.  Lately, it seems to be the ever popular "Which is .....better/first/oldest" week. (hint: the latter is Sarge))

But......

I digress.

Anyway, in a comment in one of the Unterseeboot posts, one of the commenters had mentioned "Austin AKA Moscow on the Brazos" in reference to the Capitol of my Beloved State.  Now, I have NEVER EVER commented and hit publish before my brain read what my fingers typed, No. Never, ever, never.

Ok, maybe a few times....today. So....This is not a criticism. Merely, presenting you with a discovery.

Anyhow, I had responded to the comment and  talked about the general layout of rivers in the state, and that Austin straddled the Colorado River, rather than the Brazos River.  Not wanting to hoist myself on my own petard, I actually Googled Rivers of Texas to make sure I knew which order they were in from east to west.

Apparently, Google never forgets a question you ask.  Even if you get an answer to that question.  It must think that you have an ongoing interest in that question.  A lifelong desire for information about said subject.  C'mon Sergei, stop reading my cookies....All I wanted to know was what river flowed where.  

The reason I say this about our benevolent overloads at Google is a couple of days later, I pulled up my Browser (Firefox) and in the suggested sites list was this Site about rivers. There's a lot of graphic data  on the site.  Be patient and let it load.  

It will be worth it.  Trust me.

The site refers to a Hungarian Cartographer (Map Maker, Beans, not something to do with Middle Ages Carts), who used Computers and Geographic Data Bases to map the World's watersheds.  Each map effectively shows how each drop of rain gets to the ocean, from puddle to stream to creek to minor river to major river etc. Color captioned so you can track the watersheds of major rivers.

I have always had an interest in Maps, so.....There went the rest of the Day.

Source

So, from top right to bottom left.  Green is the Red River (yeah, I know), Pale Blue is the Sabine River, Light Blue is the Trinity (once navigable all the way to Dallas), Dark Blue is the Brazos (running all the way from Lubbock  and flows close to College Station.  As such, the only thing Texas Tech and Texas A&M share). Pink is the Colorado (There's something to be said about color choice there.  I won't say it.). The two purplish rivers are the San Antonio and Nueces and, finally, the Blue-Green is the Rio Grande.This site has a list of all the other colored rivers/streams for those interested.

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I'll bet you can guess which Father of Waters is represented by the pink watershed above.  

Finally, just for BarbaCat (and PLQ) Here's the Watershed for Washington State.


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Looks like without the Columbia River, you folks would be a little thirsty.

The maps are available for purchase, should you so desire. Neither Sarge nor I have any relationship with the vendor, merely trying to avoid Internet "issues".

There are maps of watersheds for all continents and a great many countries throughout the world, and I found them fascinating.  They've also got similar maps that show Forest Cover.  I found Australia's particularly interesting. Especially, in comparison to their Watershed Map.

Hopefully, you'll find them as interesting as I did.


* Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Marine

55 comments:

  1. Another site to keep track of, thanks juvat.......hmmmmm....most interesting.

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  2. I grew up north of the Yellow House Draw... I think it's the dry part of the Brazos River watershed....

    Texas History in 7th grade, our instructor gave us this nemonic: Lets Go South Now. I think it was for the Lavaca river, Guadalupe, San Antonio and the Nueces. Important rivers during the Republic and on into statehood. I've skipped rocks in most of them. The Colorado near Wharton was like muddy chocolate pudding when we went there. I found out that "rivers" near Houston, were just drainage ditches for the Allen brother's Malarial Swamp. Dirty, nasty run off gutters for the most part. I was disappointed since we'd had so much fun in the Guadalupe in the mid 80's.... Our foray to the "beach" at Brazosport was kinda neat. Refrigerator, shopping cart, stove, washer, washer, stove, tree, tree, tree.... Swimming out there was like an obstacle course.... Found out, you have to wait a few weeks after a flood to swim in the gulf... If it's a big flood, it takes months for the scrappers to clean it all up.

    Glad to be freed from that nasty swamp over to the east.

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    1. Growing up in Big Spring, my Best Friend's family owned the Marina on Lake J.B. Thomas, near Snyder. It's fed by the Colorado and "Muddy, Chocolate Pudding" is an apt description. I learned to water ski there and rather than splashing when we fell, we commented that we raised a dust cloud. Still it was fun. The road between the Lake and Town (TX 350) was sufficiently straight(and not often patrolled), that my friend's 1973 Charger RT with a 44O Magnum could be put through it's paces. DAMHIK.
      I was spoiled by the beaches in Okinawa and Hawaii. The Texas Gulf ones aren't as nice.

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    2. No, no no, they are not at all nice beaches. It's like the ugly wet bits of Michigan tucked up against Lake St. Clair but much much worse cause y'all got hurricanes and typhoons and sea dragons and crap like that. And wind shear. Y'all got wind sheer! And tornado thingies and let's not even talk about the flies and mosquitos.

      Yep, been there to all, done that and it was all meant with humor. I like Texas now that the x moved out of there with my daughter and I no longer have to fly into DFW or Love or drive anywhere near that weird thing known as I-35.

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    3. Good Lord, avoid I35 at all costs. There are parallel routes North/South to Dallas/ San Antonio thatt are much more pleasant than It. Speedier also. I dont use it even within Austin. It’s a parking lot on a good day.

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  3. Love the maps, cool site.

    Sergei's been in the cookie jar again? Cукин сын...

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  4. The middle of Australia sure has a LOT of tiny rivers that disappear into the desert...

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    1. Yes, apparently the proper term for a watershed without water is "Desert". Who knew?

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    2. Desserts disappear around here also.

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  5. Rime of the Ancient Mariner? (“Rime of the Ancient Marine” might be something different. Probably either something about killing everything in sight, or chewing on crayons, depending on the interservice proclivities of the author.)

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    1. As I said.... I never, ever hit publish before my brain reads what my fingers type. ;-)

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    2. So much for what Suz wrote, I never noticed that until I saw what a bear wrote. A bear is on the top of his game today.

      Paul

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    3. No worries, Paul. Fighter Squadron rules are in effect around here (at least on Mondays). If the folks aren't giving you grief (you know the word I was going to use, but....Sarge rules override all others) In any case...If the folks aren't giving you grief, you aren't liked. Since we do, you are.

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    4. If you’re catching flak, you’re over the target?

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    5. Well...in bad guy territory anyway. Or you’re RTB and forgot to turn your IFF back on. Or somebody on the ground slept through the good guy section of aircraft recognition school.

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  6. Replies
    1. I like MAPS, too!

      https://mapsairmuseum.org

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    2. Wish I'd have known about that a couple of years ago when we went to the visited the Air Force Museum on Wright-Pat. A little side trip might have been nice.

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    3. Ok, so Sarge needs to start a list of interesting museums or links to neat places to visit over on the sidebar so we can make up a bucket list and have something to refer back to in 6 months when we want to go places.
      Not only do the Chant writers find interesting places, but the commenters also add to the mix.

      Just a suggestion...

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    4. Sounds like Sarge has a topic for an upcoming post.

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    5. I've got my eye on you Mr. Beans...

      'Tis the gimlet eye of a senior noncom mind you.

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    6. There might be a prototype in the top secret vault.

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    7. Beans, Watch out for the "Gimlet" eye. Gin can do horrible things to you.

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    8. juvat - That kinda thing might be worthy of its own page. (And yes, the gimlet eye saw it, and approves.)

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    9. Yeah, it would be nice if it can be sortable and searchable. I'll have a look at those possibilities when I get some time.

      Oh....Wait! ;-)

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  7. Top photo--I have a similar photo of my dad pinning on my last promotion. Sobering indeed. Seems like yesterday and 100 years ago at the same time.

    Maps--hit the link, then "prev" to get to map #7, scroll down to enlarge.

    http://www.uta.edu/utamagazine/archive-issues/2010-13/2010/08/the-lone-star-shape/

    The cartographer, A. R. Roessler, was a Hungarian immigrant, and my maternal grandmother's grandfather.

    https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fro56

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    1. RE: yesterday and 100 years ago.

      Yep! Funny about that, ain't it?

      Very cool maps. I'd seen a couple of them before in buildings around town, Fredericksburg being one of the early settlements for German immigrants. Hadn't seen your great great grandfather's (if I've got enough greats in there) map before though. I like it. That north south line that separates Edwards and Crockett county is just about exactly where my blood pressure starts going back down when I head "Out West". The "See 'em coming" distances go way up.

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  8. Very Nice Maps!!!

    And, look, my Mohawk-Hudson Valley watershed shows up perfectly!! Nice light blue. Whereas the Muskegon River, White River, and assorted others in Michigan all show up clumped together as green...hmmm...

    Yes, the trouble with typing, and reading what you just typed, is your brain tells you it sees what it knows you just wanted to type...which is why if you let it sit for a few minutes, the words are easier to proofread. Or else, you have to read the sentence backwards. Or else trust Paul to pick up the errors.

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    1. "Or else trust Paul to pick up the errors."

      I think you meant to start that with "And then...."

      As I understand the maps, the final river the tributaries empty into determines the color or all the tributaries. Do the Mohawk-Hudson possibly empty into a river in Canada, which would not be shown on the US map (ala the St Lawrence which is why the green watershed around WI is so defined)?

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    2. Nope. The Mohawk River drains into the Hudson River which drains down NY state into the Atlantic. Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River when he was wandering around the Eastern NY Bay in 1609.

      Hudson Bay is not connected to the Hudson River, which starts high in the peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and flows south parallel to the Vermont/Massachusetts/Connecticut boarders with NYS on the NY side of the line. Henry wandered around Hudson's Bay in 1610, where his crew mutinied and kicked him off the boat, never to be heard from again.

      I was confused with the Colorado River in Austin. I didn't realize there are 2 Colorado Rivers in North America, and 6 in South America. I had only ever heard about the one that flows from Colorado into Southern CA. See I learned new stuff today!! Keeping the brain young!! Whoo-hoo.

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    3. Ahh...I got thrown off by the Michigan comment and was looking a bit further west. Yeah, the Colorado river in the west has considerably more water in it than the one in Texas. Which is a good thing if you live in LA.

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  9. "I never, ever hit publish before my brain reads what my fingers type."

    Good advice I should have taken before I made the embarrassing gaffe about Brazos vs. Colorado that you reference. Not sure why I did that even now, since I have been to both many times while growing up and even in my trips back to Texas since becoming an ex-pat in NC. And one of my customers a few years back was the Colorado River Water Authority... maybe because I have also spent more time on the Brazos than the others? Possum Kingdom Lake (Boy Scout Camp) and Lake Whitney (survey work during college - BIG spiders in the latrine!!). But thanks for keeping me honest, juvat!

    Anyway, great maps! I also find maps very interesting, both current ones and new ones. Besides the ability to figure out how to get from point A to point B, maps also spark the imagination about interesting places and people and indicate likely targets for future road trips. Speaking of maps, Amazing how many of the young generations don't know how to read even a simple road map, much less a topo map.

    About 5 years ago, an original 1849 map of Texas was sold at auction in Dallas for almost $150,000. It was featured on an episode of Strange Inheritance on Fox Business

    https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4116805111001/#sp=show-clips

    https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/03/15/165-year-old-map-of-texas-auctioned-off-in-dallas/

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    1. Yes, well as seen in the comments, my ABILITY to avoid hitting publish is frequently overridden by my brain, or lack thereof.

      Studying a topo map before a low level flight was somewhat important. Especially if weather was a factor.

      I think I'd heard about that auction. Those old maps are fascinating also. And surprisingly accurate given the technology of the time was the MK-1 Eyeball mounted approximately 5-6' off the ground.

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  10. As you might imagine, I, too, like maps. A very lovely post, however, I have one small caveat, I live in Oregon.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. I knew that! Wonder how I got Washington in my brain? In any case, Here's Oregon. Still looks like the Columbia River is a big factor.

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  11. Aw, Juvat, you are the best! (...and cute, too!)

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    1. Awww, Shucks, Ma'am! Now you got me all blushing.

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    2. urrrp.... I think I just barfed on my poop suit.

      ;)

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    3. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. The Lady said something nice. Other than my wife, who else does that around here? ;-)

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  12. Well, duh, that being a Cartographer does maps. Yeesh. They had maps in the middle ages, and even here in Florida today we have maps. Sinkhole maps, flood plain maps, socialist voting maps...

    Next thing you'll try to tell me is a Mule Skinner does skin mules.

    I liked the old officer hat. I thought it looked good. Liked seeing my dad in his.

    And as to thinking... I could say something referring to how you worked at the Pentagon, you were an officer and you worked for a school board, three jobs not normally requiring much intelligence, but it's Monday, so I'll be nice to my elder. So make sure you wrap up warm and eat your prunes with your milk...

    Otherwise, congratulations on the anniversary of your winging. A momentous day, that you survived to make it to.

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    1. The socialist voting map looks pretty much like a map of Florida doesn't it. After all the discovery of the "misplaced" ballot boxes, of course.

      Can't disagree with your analysis of thinking. However...the second picture from the top? That required a "wee bit" of thinking.

      Prunes and Milk? Don't you be belittling Sarge's breakfast.

      Thanks. BTW a '73 Charger RT with a 440 Magnum can do 150+. Just sayin'

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  13. Charts, dammit... CHARTS, not maps! :-)

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    1. According to NOAA, A nautical chart represents hydrographic data, providing very detailed information on water depths, shoreline, tide predictions, obstructions to navigation such as rocks and shipwrecks, and navigational aids.

      The term “map,” on the other hand, emphasizes landforms and encompasses various geographic and cartographic products. Some examples of maps might be road maps or atlases, or city plans. A map usually represents topographical information.

      A chart is used by mariners to plot courses through open bodies of water as well as in highly trafficked areas. Because of its critical importance in promoting safe navigation, the nautical chart has a certain level of legal standing and authority. A map, on the other hand, is a reference guide showing predetermined routes like roads and highways.

      Nautical charts provide detailed information on hidden dangers to navigation. Maps provide no information of the condition of a road.

      Since these graphics provide none of the requirements given by NOAA to be Charts...ergo they must be maps

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  14. Old Colorado saying. Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.

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    1. Well, there certainly is some history behind that statement in both your state and mine.

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  15. I wonder what is it about maps, for those who reside hereon?
    We used to study the "maps" of NVN before we left in the late afternoon's setting sun, but at first flare's light, there was always a surprise or two. I don't know how accurate that INS was at the time. It looked mostly the same from our altitude and we could usually find something that seemed to satisfy the frag. Bamboo bridges were always plentiful. No headlights or large pagan firesides. I did nab a large fuel dump once. Could see it from many miles away, Southbound.
    I have a similar picture of my folks and me. All beaming. Did you break your wings, my friend? It was a tradition, as told to us, that if you broke the issued set, you'd have good luck. I still have 'em in the blue box with the clear lid and foam inside. Broken neatly by my mom.

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    1. Actually, I think I Did. My Mom was horrified. However... I’m still speaking to you.

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  16. Love the charts/maps. I have always heard those large pieces of paper with topography, roads, railroads, towers and other landmarks for use in navigating the airspace referred to as charts.

    Like the picture at the top. I don't know if I have my complement to it. My parents pinned my father's wings that he earned some 25 years earlier on me in September '74 at Willie Airpatch. My brother almost ended up in Army Aviation as a pilot. If he had my Day and I would have done the honors; it just didn't come to be.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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