Baker River (Skagit River)

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Baker River
The river system of the Baker River

The river system of the Baker River

Data
Water code US :  1516060
location Washington (State) , United States
River system Skagit River
Drain over Skagit River  → Puget Sound
source in Whatcom County east of Mount Baker and northeast of Mount Shuksan
48 ° 51 ′ 1 ″  N , 121 ° 22 ′ 52 ″  W
muzzle in Skagit County coordinates: 48 ° 45 ′ 54 "  N , 121 ° 32 ′ 34"  W 48 ° 45 ′ 54 "  N , 121 ° 32 ′ 34"  W

length approx. 48 km  (30 miles )
Catchment area approx. 700 km²
Small towns Concrete (Washington)
Baker River valley from northeast

Baker River valley from northeast

The Baker River is an approx. 48 km long, south-flowing tributary of the Skagit River in the US state of Washington . It rises in the northern Cascade Mountains, north of Seattle and east of Mount Baker . With a catchment area of approx. 700 km² in a wide and deep valley, partly in the North Cascades National Park , it is the last major tributary of the Skagit River before it flows into Skagit Bay . The river flows through Concrete near its mouth and has two hydroelectric plants owned by Puget Sound Energy .

River course

The Baker River has its source near Whatcom Peak in the Cascade Range, in the northern part of the North Cascades National Park . It flows south from the Baker River Valley northeast of Mount Shuksan . Most of the time the river flows southwest through a steep glacial valley, in which it takes in several small glacial streams from the surrounding mountains. Much of the southern half is dammed in man-made lakes, both of which are part of the Baker River Hydroelectric Project . The first lake, dammed up by the Upper Baker Dam , is 14 km long. (The lake was originally a natural lake until its level was dammed by the 95 m high dam.) The Lake Shannon , dammed by the Lower Baker Dam , begins just beyond Baker Lake and extends 12.1 km downstream. Behind the Lower Baker Dam, the river is no longer dammed , with the exception of a small weir at a fish pass , and after about two kilometers it flows into the Skagit River.

Most of Baker Lake is in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest . The upper dam is in Whatcom County and the Lower Baker Dam is in Skagit County , north of Concrete . Both dams are owned by Puget Sound Energy .

nature

The Baker sockeye salmon is the only surviving sockeye salmon population in the Skagit River catchment area. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife found that the Baker sockeye salmon is genetically different from other sockeye salmon. Around 1992 the condition of the species was classified as "Endangered". In 1985 only 92 adults were found. However, since the 1990s the population has recovered somewhat, in part due to improvements in the catch and transport system. In 2003 a maximum of 20,235 fish was counted.

Before the Lower Baker Dam was built in 1925, the fish had access to the river and the, still natural, Baker Lake. The annual red salmon migration was estimated at around 20,000 fish at the time. Artificial expansion began around 1896 when Washington State established a hatchery on Baker Lake. It was the first to be built for sockeye salmon. The station was closed in 1933. The Upper Baker Dam, built at the time, in 1959 flooded the original Baker Lake and the surrounding valley, including the spawning grounds of the Baker sockeye salmon. Artificial spawning grounds were built at the top of the new Baker Lake. In 1990 an additional artificial spawning area was built at Sulfur Creek. All returning sockeye salmon are caught in front of the Lower Baker Dam and transported to the artificial spawning grounds.

The Baker River is also home to other fish such as the silver salmon .

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Baker River are listed here, seen upstream (L = left, R = right).

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Baker River, Washington. 2004 Settlement Agreement Signed for 2 Dams (PDF; 102 kB) National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ a b 1992 SASSI "Bluebook" Appendix One, Puget Sound Stocks: North Puget Sound Volume . In: 1992 Salmon and Steelhead Stock Inventory (SASSI) "Bluebook" . Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Western Washington Treaty Indian Tribes. Pp. 207-213. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  3. ^ A b Sockeye Salmon: Baker River Sockeye . Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  4. ^ Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for the Fiscal Year 1921 . United States Government Printing Office , 1922, p. 238.