Photographs of Buffalo Bayou Flowing Past Memorial Park

 

Watch this slide show of lovely photographs taken in July 2014 by renowned Houston photographer Jim Olive. The photographs were taken looking downstream on Buffalo Bayou with Memorial Park on the left and the River Oaks Country Club on the right.

  • Buffalo Bayou looking downstream with Memorial Park on the left.
  • Buffalo Bayou looking downstream with Memorial Park on the left.
  • Buffalo Bayou looking downstream with Memorial Park on the left.
  • Red clay banks of Buffalo Bayou looking downstream with Memorial Park on the left.
  • Red clay banks topped by 750,000-year-old sandstone on Buffalo Bayou looking downstream with Memorial Park on the left.
  • South bank of Buffalo Bayou in Houston as it passes by Memorial Park.
  • Fluvial sandstone 750,000 years old in Houston's Buffalo Bayou as it flows past Memorial Park.
  • Sunlight filtering through overhanging trees on Buffalo Bayou as it flows past Memorial Park in Houston.
  • Tree roots and very old stone naturally holding the bank together on Buffalo Bayou as it passes by Memorial Park in Houston.
  • Ripples in sand along Buffalo Bayou as it passes by Memorial Park.

And here is a more recent slide show of photographs taken on a paddle up and down Buffalo Bayou past the Hogg Bird Sanctuary and Memorial Park on May 28, 2018.

  • The south-facing high bluff in the Hogg Bird Sanctuary, looking upstream with the River Oaks Country Club on the left. Photo May 28, 2018
  • The south-facing high bluff of the Hogg Bird Sanctuary from Buffalo Bayou. Photo May 28, 2018
  • The mouth of the Hogg tributary that drains from underneath Memorial Drive has shifted back upstream closer to where it had been over half a century ago. Here the recent mouth below a high bluff has been blocked with sediment after Harvey.
  • Looking downstream on Buffalo Bayou with the city-owned Hogg Bird Sanctuary on the left and River Oaks Country Club property on the right. Photo May 28, 2018
  • The River Oaks Country Club is still having problems with its bank on the golf course where the trees were cut down and replaced with mowed grass.
  • Egret flying on a meander of Buffalo Bayou at the downstream edge of Memorial Park in Houston. May 28, 2018
  • Wildlife tracks including beaver on the right in the bank of the meander at the eastern edge of Memorial Park. Photo May 28, 2018
  • Looking upstream on Buffalo Bayou near the eastern edge of Memorial Park. Park on the right, River Oaks Country Club property on the left. May 28, 2018
  • Paddling upstream on Buffalo Bayou with Memorial Park on the right. Photo May 28, 2018
  • Standing on the shore below that high bank looking upstream at the bend in the bayou. Maintenance contractors for Flood Control had cleared most of the woody debris from the bank. Natural Buffalo Bayou sandstone, somewhat more broken, extending into the channel. Photo May 28, 2018
  • Checking out the tributary that drains Memorial Park into the bayou. Plastic draping River Oaks Country Club denuded bank in the distance. Photo from the shore below the high bank in that bend in the river looking downstream.
  • Upright tree on north bank of Buffalo Bayou in Memorial Park recently cut by maintenance contractor for Harris County Flood Control District.
  • A group of trees recently cut on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou across from Memorial Park. Pile of material dredged from the channel dumped in the foreground.
  • Regrowth above riprap installed by country club in 2015 at the upstream edge of the golf course.
  • Telephone poles leaning on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou upstream from the River Oaks Country Club.
  • An example of how woody debris next to the bank collects sediment and rebuilds the bank. Flood Control maintenance contractors had not yet cleared this area. Photo May 28, 2018

And a few more taken on July 1, 2018, from the high bank and among the trees of the small stream flowing through the park into the bayou nearby.

  • Outstanding sycamore on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou upstream from that Bend in the River that we have been documenting for four years now. Photo by Jim Olive on July 1, 2018.
  • This creek flows into the bayou from the center of Memorial Park. It enters the bayou just downstream from the bend that we have been photo-documenting through the seasons. Photo by SC, July 1, 2018
  • Early morning joggers descending the bank towards the small tributary. Note the tree stump cut recently apparently by Harris County Flood Control maintenance contractors. Photo by SC
  • Closer view of the tree cut for no good reason on the bank of the creek flowing through Memorial Park into the bayou. Photo July 1, 2018
  • Looking up the creek that flows from the center of Memorial Park into Buffalo Bayou. Photo July 1, 2018
  • A big pine standing on the high bank of Buffalo Bayou in Memorial Park. Asking for a hug.

 

3 thoughts on “Photographs of Buffalo Bayou Flowing Past Memorial Park”

  1. Alix Dunn says:

    Thank you for these photos.
    Being a native Houstonian and growing up on a tributary of the bayou created a lasting inspiration for my painting.
    I hope your photos are able to stop the recent destruction of the natural beauty of Buffalo Bayou

    1. Thanks, Alix. Be sure to let the mayor, your city council and county representatives know, as well as the Harris County Flood Control District and the Army Corps of Engineers. We have until June 5 to make comments to the Corps on flood control’s revised permit application to destroy the natural beauty of Buffalo Bayou as it flows past Memorial Park.

  2. Margaret Footit says:

    As a native to Houston, I agree with Alix. Buffalo Bayou in it’s natural form is an asset to the city. Many inner city dwellers would not have the opportunity to experience the serenity of life outside of the pressures of city life. It is a place to be cherished. Leave it for future generations as is. There are many opportunities for Houstonians to enjoy by leaving Buffalo Bayou in it’s present form

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