Series: Waterworld
Title: The Allejan Vallis
These lines are an enigma to me. They are a visual mystery in the same way the Nazca or Palpa lines are of Southern Peru still baffle us. Lines that we simply cannot explain how they came into being. Why they were created.
In the case of the intriguing lines of the Allejan Vallis, these inter-tidal mudflat channels or gullies, remind me of roads. Roads inundated with water. The distant ruffled mud patches on the horizon resembles the outline of a small town. Beyond their ability to suggest a waterlogged landscape and therefore add another visual layer to my series Waterworld, these strange lines tease me with the question! How were they formed? The main channel witnessed here is almost pencil straight. Gouged out of the mud in a manner that would suggest the passing of a boats rudder. But I don’t think that is how they came into being. No matter how much searching I have done for similar images, I have come up with nothing even close. Mostly mudflat channels weave, twist and turn, similar to how rivers meander across flood plains seeking the easiest route back to the source.
What has become evident from searching is that scientists know very little about so called mudflat morphodynamics. In a nuthsell the science of understanding how inter-tidal mudflats play a critical role in estuarine exchange, connecting marine and continental supplies of nutrients and sediments. Mudflats serve as feeding ground for (migratory) birds and fish and are an integral part of the estuarine coastline and play an important role in flood defense.
Studies reveal that as sea levels rise, floodplain dynamics change decreasing sediment supply and eventually drown the mudflat. Research suggests that sea level rise is a serious threat to the presence of many estuarine inter-tidal mudflats, adjacent salt marshes and their associated ecological values.
Waterworld. Such a denuded place.
Available now online. See link above. Giclee prints. Signed. Edition of 5. Delivered. Worldwide.
