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This sculpture measures water flow in the Rio Grande at Albuquerque. The left panel of the triptych consists of a transparent reservoir. The water level in the reservoir changes with stream flow in the Rio Grande. A gauging station near the Central Avenue Bridge measures the stream flow. This data is transmitted by FM radio signal from the gauging station. This sculpture receives the data. A programmable controller processes the data and regulates the level in the reservoir as a hydrograph of actual stream flow.
The central panel consists of rounded river stones and seashells held in place by a woven wire fabric. The stones are round because they have been worked by the natural processes of the river. The stones vary in size from large at the top to small at the bottom to represent the natural energy gradient of the River.
The right panel consists of fractured stones held in place by a woven wire fabric. The stones are fractured because they have been worked by the hand of man to serve as riprap at each of the six major dams along the Rio Grande. The stones are the same size to represent the homogenizing influence of dams on the River.
