Click on the Colored Rock Sonoma Creek image to enlarge

Colored Rock Sonoma Creek

Colored Rock Sonoma Creek is a beautiful location in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Colored  Rock Sonoma Creek can be seen in a normal winter in Sonoma County.

In the year of 2012 it is not a normal winter in California or Sonoma County. Two events are occurring that prevent the scene of Colored Rock Sonoma Creek from being seen.

The first event is that we have had a very dry winter in Northern California. Sonoma Creek is a waterway that depends on the winter rains that occur in California. After the winter storms that come down from the Gulf of Alaska start to occur Sonoma Creek begins to flow. The stream will flow all winter and spring depending on how much rains soaks the water table surrounding Sonoma Creek.

Another event that is occurring in the year 2012 is that Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is one of several California State Parks that is closed to the public. This closure is occurring due to the budget problems that are occurring in California during the “Great Recession”. The view of Colored Rock Sonoma Creek cannot be seen again till the Park re-opens in March of 2012.

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is one of my favorite locations in Sonoma County to do landscape photography. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is where the headwaters of Sonoma Creek begin. Sonoma Creek runs through a beautiful gorge and canyon and is surrounded by redwoods and ferns. The green ferns and moss of the canyon become a brilliant green in color after the winter rains occur.

As seen in Colored Rock Sonoma Creek the creek bed is filled with colorful rocks of orange and yellow. The rocks formed from volcanoes and sedimentation become saturated in color when the right lighting conditions happen.

Hopefully as Spring progresses the rains will come and the recession will end so that images of Colored Rock Sonoma Creek can again be a subject for photography.