Green River (Duwamish River)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green River
Map of the catchment area of ​​the Green River / Duwamish River, course of the Green River highlighted

Map of the catchment area of ​​the Green River / Duwamish River, course of the Green River highlighted

Data
location King County , Washington , USA
River system Puget Sound
Drain over Duwamish River  → Puget Sound
source Cascade chain
47 ° 8 ′ 0 ″  N , 121 ° 18 ′ 0 ″  W.
Source height 1000  m
muzzle Duwamish River Coordinates: 47 ° 28 ′ 0 ″  N , 121 ° 15 ′ 0 ″  W 47 ° 28 ′ 0 ″  N , 121 ° 15 ′ 0 ″  W.
Mouth height 17  m
Height difference 983 m
Bottom slope 9.4 ‰
length 104.6 km
Catchment area 1,139.6 km²
Big cities Kent
Medium-sized cities Auburn
Small towns Tukwila
View upstream from the Suspension Bridge in Isaac Evans Park in Auburn, Washington

View upstream from the Suspension Bridge in Isaac Evans Park in Auburn, Washington

The Green River is an approximately 104 km long river in King County , Washington State , which rises on the western slopes of the Cascade Range south of Interstate 90 .

The upper Green River Valley forms the western access to Stampede Pass and was once crossed by many small railroad lines; many logging towns such as Weston , Lester , Green River Hot Springs , Nagrom , Maywood , Humphreys , Eagle Gorge , Lemolo and Kanaskat could be found here. Shortly before the First World War, the city of Tacoma secured the water rights on the Green River. Today much of the upper valley is a water sanctuary for Tacoma; access is heavily regulated, which leads to controversy among those seeking relaxation.

Between 1880 and 1888, the Northern Pacific Railway explored and mapped the Green River. The rail company built the first direct rail link across the Cascade Range in Washington when the Stampede Tunnel opened in 1888.

history

The maps show the changes in the course and nomenclature of the rivers in the Duwamish Valley from 1899–1959.

By 1906, the Green River flowed into the White River in downtown Auburn . In that year, however, the White River above Auburn changed its course after a flood of the century and from then on poured into the Puyallup River ; this is still the case today. The lower reaches of the historic White River - from the historic confluence of the Green River into the White River to the historic confluence of the Black River at Tukwila , where the Duwamish arises - is now considered part of the Green River. Later, with the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916, the lake's level sank nearly nine feet and the Black River dried up. Since then, the place from which the river is called Duwamish is no longer a confluence of several rivers, although the place itself has not changed. Hence, the Green River becomes the Duwamish River by entering the industrialized estuary commonly known as the Duwamish Waterway ; in Seattle , the river flows into Elliott Bay , a bay in Puget Sound . In contrast, the White River turns south at Auburn and flows into the Puyallup River, which in Tacoma flows into Commencement Bay , also a bay of Puget Sound.

In October 2009, huge sandbags were installed on the dike along the river from Fort Dent to beyond Kent. The Green River Trail has been closed to cyclists. The sandbags were designed to mitigate the potential flood forecast based on an observed vulnerability at Howard A. Hanson Dam following a storm in January 2009. Repair efforts by the United States Army Corps of Engineers on the dam, some of which were designed as an earth dam, were able to significantly reduce the risk of flooding. In September 2012, the Green River Trail reopened and all sandbags were removed.

course

Most of the river above and including the Eagle Gorge Reservoir is part of the Green River basin, which is closed to public access; from time to time this triggers controversy between those seeking relaxation and those responsible for it. West of the Green River catchment area at Kanaskat, the river passes the Green River Gorge with steep slopes and cliffs that rise up to 91 m above the river bed. The Flaming Geyser State Park , the Nolte State Park and the Kanaskat-Palmer State Park are located in this area. The river is a popular place in summer to float on truck or swim tires.

Below the Green River Gorge is the approximately half a mile (800 m) wide Green River Valley , where agricultural land is barred from other uses and development. The attempt to establish a trail for bikers along the valley walls met with fierce resistance from the farmers. Ultimately, cyclists have to share the road that winds through rural areas with drivers.

At Auburn, the Green River emerges from the Green River Valley and enters the much larger Auburn / Kent Valley , which was created by glacial activities during the Pleistocene ; During this time the valley of river sediments and from was Mount Rainier outgoing lahars filled. After flowing generally westward from its source, the river turns north at Auburn and enters a less industrialized area with shopping centers. A public multifunctional trail runs along the river through most of the valley.

The following discharge values ​​were measured at Auburn:

  • Average: 37 m³ / s
  • Maximum: 796 m³ / s
  • Minimum: 2 m³ / s

Green River Killer

The Green River is notorious as the location where the first victims of serial killer Gary Ridgway were found in the 1980s . Most of these victims were prostitutes working on the "street prostitutes " along Washington State Route 99 (also known as Pacific Highway South ). Although few bodies were found in the river, the unknown killer came to be known as the "Green River Killer". These murders remained unsolved for more than 20 years. Dave Reichert led the investigation for many years as a detective for the King County Sheriff's Office . Ridgway reached an agreement with King County Attorney Norm Maleng to cooperate with the police to avoid the death penalty . In November 2003, Gary Ridgway found himself guilty of 48 aggravated first degree murders. King County Supreme Court Justice Richard A. Jones sentenced Ridgway to 48 life sentences. Ridgway will never be paroled.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Google Earth determination of the elevation for the source of the Green River. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  2. ↑ Google Earth elevation for the mouth of the Green River. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  3. ↑ USGS ; Green River in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System ; Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  4. ↑ a b USGS ; Water Data Report WA-05-1 , file: Duwamish River Basin ; Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  5. ^ "The Green-Duwamish: A River System Re-Plumbed", The Green-Duwamish River: Connecting people with a diverse environment . Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition / TAG. Without a date, possibly 2008 or 2009.
  6. ↑ Green River Trail in Kent to close - making way for giant sandbags . Kent reporter. October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 6, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pnwlocalnews.com
  7. ↑ All sandbags removed in Kent along Green River Trail . Kent reporter. September 24, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Green River Regional Trail . Archived from the original on July 18, 2006.
  9. ^ Home of the Green River Killer Information Pages .
  10. ↑ Guillen, 2007.
  11. ^ Green River Killings . Seattle Times.
  12. ↑ Aggravated First Degree Murder: RCW 10.95.020 .
  13. ^ Sentence for Aggravated First Degree Murder: RCW 10.95.030 .

swell

  • Tomas Guillen: Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders , Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2007.

Web links

Commons : Green River (Washington)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files