Repeat photography of Rattlesnake Camp, Colorado River in Grand Canyon, River Mile 74.4

The first image in this repeat photographic series shows boats on a beach along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in 1923 (National Archives photo LaRue #411, public domain). The photograph was taken by E.C. LaRue during the 1923 Birdseye Expedition through Grand Canyon. The Birdseye Expedition surveyed a 251-mile stretch of the Colorado River from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek. The two major goals of the expedition were to locate potential dam sites and create a series of maps and profiles of the area. Emory LaRue was an engineer for the USGS until 1927, and was the Birdseye Expedition hydrologist and photographer. The image was taken at River Mile 74.4, looking upstream on river right at the lower end of Rattlesnake Camp.



The second photo was taken in 1991 by Dave Edwards, USGS. Field notes document "major beach erosion and invasion of Tamarix and Salix," and plant species documented during 1991 were Acacia greggii, Tamarix, Salix, and Baccharis emoryi. This image was captured at ~10 m above the river on a rock outcropping downstream from the beach, looking upstream.



The third photo was taken in 2002 by an unknown USGS photographer. Note the changes in vegetation, now covering most of the beach. SBSC Southwest Repeat Photography Collection stake (camera point) s2505.