Elwha River

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elwha River
Elwha River - Humes Ranch Area2.JPG
Data
Water code US :  1531449
location Washington (USA)
River system Elwha River
source in Jefferson County,
47 ° 46 ′ 8 "  N , 123 ° 34 ′ 43"  W.
muzzle in Clallam County on Juan-de-Fuca-Strasse Coordinates: 48 ° 8 ′ 50 "  N , 123 ° 33 ′ 58"  W 48 ° 8 ′ 50 "  N , 123 ° 33 ′ 58"  W
Mouth height 0  m

length 72 km  (45 miles )
Communities Elwha

The Elwha River is a 72 km long river on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state .

Most of the river is in Olympic National Park .

etymology

The origin of the name Elwha is uncertain. It could be a corruption of the place name e ilth quath (āīlth'q-uȧtt) from the language of the Quileutes . According to another theory, it is derived from the word der Klallam for wapiti, elkwah , or from the name of the Klallam village that was once on the bank of the river. The first documented use of the name Elwha for the river is Henry Kellett's 1846 map.

Renaturation

The Elwha River is the site of the largest dam dismantling to date. As early as 1992, the congress decided in the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act (Public Law 102-485) to renaturate. There were two dams in the lower reaches of the river; the 1910 Elwha Dam at km 8 and the 1927 Clines Canyon Dam at km 21, which have been demolished in a three-year project since September 17, 2011. The original water regime was restored to over 70 km, which was previously inaccessible to aquatic life from the estuary. Five species of Pacific salmon live in Elwha , including king salmon . They should benefit from the renaturation of the river. Instead of around 3000 specimens previously, around 400,000 spawning salmon of all species represented in the area are expected in the long term after the permeability for fish has been restored.

The renaturation is also of particular importance for the Indians from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe , who will then receive areas outside the national park that were previously covered by one of the reservoirs. According to their myths, the affected valley represents the place of origin of their people. The mythological origin became accessible again in autumn 2012 for the first time in around 100 years. In addition, the salmon and other migratory fish play a major role in their traditions.

In the summer of 2012 ascending fish were already observed in the river, in August 2012 they reached the national park for the first time, so that the repopulation could proceed faster than expected. In September 2013, after the lower dam was completely demolished, over 1200 king salmon were already counted above the former dam. The tributaries of the Elwha River were also repopulated in the now accessible section of the river.

In the course of the renaturation work, traces of settlement were found on the bottom of the former upper dam, which were dated to 8000 years Before Present . They are among the oldest records of man on the Olympic Peninsula.

The demolition of the upper Glines Canyon Dam was completed in September 2014, the biomonitoring of the fish in the Elwha River will be continued for several years in order to document the success of the renaturation for the migratory species.

In the summer of 2016, three species of salmon and one species of trout were found in the upper reaches of the river, which, due to the demolition of the dams, were able to reach these river sections for the first time. Two spawning deposits of sockeye salmon were also observed. In the middle course between the former dawn three other salmon species were found.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Smitty Parratt: Gods & goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park . CP Publications, 1984, ISBN 0-914195-00-X , p. 43.
  2. ↑ National Park Service: Olympic National Park - Dam Removal - Overview
  3. ↑ National Park Service: Olympic National Park - Elwha River Restoration
  4. ↑ Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: Dam Removal - Effect on the People ( Memento of the original from January 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elwha.org
  5. ↑ a b Seattle Times: Elwha tribe finds legendary creation site, wants uncovered land , August 13, 2012
  6. ^ NOAA Fisheries Service: Fish Already Returning To Elwha River after Dam Removal , July 20, 2012
  7. ↑ National Park Service: Olympic National Park - Return of the Kings ', press release August 20, 2012
  8. ↑ Sequim Gazette: The Chinook are back , October 1, 2013
  9. ^ National Park Service: Elwha Restauration Blog: Nearing the End of Dam Removal , August 1, 2014
  10. ^ National Park Service: Fish Continue to Re-colonize Elwha Watershed , September 8, 2016