Floodwaters

The murky, flooded Buffalo River churns past a sandstone bluff at Buffalo Point.

NPS

During and after significant rain events, stormwater runs off overland, picking up sediments and other pollutants from the ground and depositing them in waterways like the Buffalo River. This explains why the river can appear murky at times.

In the days after a flood, the river can keep churning with high volume, keeping large sediment loads suspended in the water. As the river settles down, larger sediments begin drifting to the bottom, causing the water to go from brown to green. When only fine sediments are left suspended in the water, the river can appear a vibrant blue. When all sediments have settled to the bottom, the river becomes almost perfectly clear. More info: Turquoise Waters Explained (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)