Crabtree under Atlantic Ave at Hodge Road Nov. 11, 2009
Crabtree is a low -flow system that has carved itself an impressive channel through Raleigh over hundreds of thousands of years. That course fills to overflowing fairly often, as Crabtree drains a huge swath of Piedmont terrain, from Brier Creek in north Wake County, out to west Cary and down to Walnut Creek south of Raleigh. Flood control lakes such as Lynn and Shelley have eased flooding in Crabtree Valley, but Middle Crabtree Greenway in central Raleigh, as well as Walnut in East Raleigh, continues to flood after heavy rains. Above is 12 hours after high water at Atlantic Avenue and Hodge Road. Below is a high-low pair of pictures for the same spot.
- Crabtree threatens 9-08 Underpass completed 7-08
I have posted about flooding here before at Raleigh Nature, and maintain an ongoing post of comparison pictures at my nature projects blog, Pecans & Mistletoe. “The Gar Hole” is the most important feature of this favorite stretch of greenway, accessible at Atlantic Avenue on weekends (parking available then at the plumbing supply warehouse) or at the deadend east of the Longbranch on weekdays (unless it’s flooded). So I take regular shots of the gar hole and the view from the railroad bridge at different seasons and water flows. Below are some interesting pairs.
June 07 November 09
March 07 June 07
Gar Hole after December 07 rains
Crabtree from Hodge Rd RR bridge 7 November and 4 days later after “Ida” rains.
Hodge Rd. RR bridge Jan 07 and after rains 11–11-09
Creek Levels at Pecans & Mistletoe
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box elder beetle at Hodge Rd RR bridge; barn spider
gar hole butterfly
raleighnaturalist
The Raleigh Naturalist 
[…] The previous post talked about Crabtree Creek’s tendency to flood – last week again brought heavy rains over the Crabtree watershed that brought the creek up to the edge of its large channels. This also sends an impressive load of water over Lassiter Mill Dam, as seen above. I shot a video clip of the rushing water from below the tailrace, as linked below. […]
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