Tye River

	Tye River
	; Image wanted
	Data
location	King County , Washington , USA
River system	Snohomish River
Drain over	Skykomish River → Snohomish River → Puget Sound
Source in the cascade chain	Stevens Pass ; 47 ° 44 ′ 28 ″ N , 121 ° 5 ′ 12 ″ W.
muzzle	South Fork Skykomish River Coordinates: 47 ° 42 ′ 18 " N , 121 ° 18 ′ 21" W 47 ° 42 ′ 18 " N , 121 ° 18 ′ 21" W;
length	18 km
Catchment area	210 km²

The Tye River is a river in King County , Washington state . It has its source near Stevens Pass in the Cascade Range and flows westward; it merges with the Foss River to form the South Fork Skykomish River . Its waters ultimately flow over the Skykomish River and Snohomish River into Puget Sound near Everett . The US Highway 2 follows the river along its entire length. A line of the BNSF Railway follows most of the river's course except near the pass where the tracks branch off into the Cascade Tunnel . Power lines of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) follow the Tye River west of Tunnel Creek.

Most of the Tye River's drainage basin lies within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest .

The Tye River is considered a continuation of the South Fork Skykomish River above the confluence with the Foss River. The actual source of the South Fork Skykomish River - in terms of flow rate - is the Rapid River , a tributary of the Beckler River , which in turn is itself a tributary of the South Fork Skykomish.

The Tye River is named after William Francis Tye, a surveyor for the Great Northern Railway who laid the route to Stevens Pass.

course

The Tye River rises on the west side of the main ridge of the Northern Cascade Range at Stevens Pass. It flows first westwards, then southwest and collects a lot of small streams. At river kilometer 14.8 - near the west portal of the Cascade Tunnel - the Tunnel Creek flows into the river. US Highway 2 takes a hairpin bend in the Valley of Tunnel Creek. The Tye River then turns more directly westward. Surprise Creek and its tributary, Scenic Creek, flow to it near Scenic . Deception Creek empties near Deception Falls at river kilometer 10.0. The Scenic, Surprise and Deception Creeks all come from the south. Martin Creek flows below the mouth of Deception Creek, coming from the north. Then - at river kilometer 7.2 - the Tye falls over the Alpine Falls. Below the waterfall, Carroll Creek and Alpine Creek flow into the Tye River from the south. The BPA power line crosses the Tye River at river kilometer 5.1. A few miles east of Skykomish , the Foss River, coming from the south, joins the Tye River to form the South Fork Skykomish River.

history

The Great Northern Railway built the tracks that are now owned by the BNSF. The railway line originally followed the Tye River to Stevens Pass, which was crossed using a series of switchbacks. The first Cascade Tunnel was built in Wellington , just west of the pass. After the Wellington avalanche disaster in 1910, the Great Northern changed the name of the place to Tye (after the river) because "Wellington" was associated with the disaster. The place was abandoned after the construction of the second Cascade Tunnel in 1929.

nature

The upper Tye River flows through a steep, narrow, and densely forested valley. Below the mouth of Surprise Creek, the valley of the Tye alternately widens and narrows. There are dense mixed deciduous and coniferous forests on the valley floor and coniferous forests with mighty trees on the edges of the valley. Most of the lower-lying forests have already been cut down at least once. Primary forests are mainly found in the upper reaches and the tributaries there.

Above the mouth of Deception Creek, the Tye River has a steep incline and flows through a confined bed so that it flows almost continuously over steep cascades and small waterfalls. Down the river, near the mouth, the slope moderates and the valley widens; it becomes wider and flatter. The river takes on an intertwined structure and is split into numerous arms. There are many tree trunks and large accumulations of dead wood in the lower course of the river, making it an excellent habitat for salmon . The final mile (1.6 km) of the Tye has a steeper gradient; here cascades alternate with deep pools.

Almost all tributaries of the Tye River are high mountain streams with steep slopes. Some flow into the Tye Valley from high valleys and plunge into high waterfalls.

The Tye River is home to king and silver salmon . The adult fish migrate upstream to the Alpine Falls. Spawning usually takes place in the main stream. Some silver salmon spawn in the lower parts of some tributaries such as Alpine Creek. Young salmon grow in all accessible waters of the catchment area. Anadromous fish can no longer be found above the Alpine Falls, these form a complete barrier for migration. The Sunset Falls on the South Fork Skykomish River - below the mouth of the Tye River - are also a complete barrier to fish migration. All anadromous fish above Sunset Falls, which includes the entire catchment area of the Tye River, are only available as a result of a trap-and-haul operation initiated in 1958 by the Washington Department of Fisheries has been operating since then. Between July and December the fish are caught below the falls, transported upstream and released into the South Fork Skykomish.

About 200 km of roads have been built in the Tye River Basin, so that the road density reaches and in places exceeds a threshold value above which damage to the catchment area can occur through the effects of the roads on the hydrology of the slopes and landslides . The Martin Creek and Beckler Peak Streets pose the greatest threat to the streams. Gritting sand use on US Highway 2 in winter is a permanent source of fine sediment in the Tye River. Every year 70… 200 m³ of sand are spread on the highway. It is not known how much of it ends up in the Tye River. Only one percent would be equivalent to a small landslide. The rise in sediment levels is fueling concerns about damage to salmon habitats.

Tributaries

The tributaries of the Tye River are listed below in order from mouth to source. Their tributaries, in turn, are indented. Many streams have no name and are labeled "unnamed". The list is not complete.

Alpine Creek
Carroll Creek
Martin Creek
- unnamed
  - Jakes Lake
- Kelly Creek
- unnamed
  - Embro Lake
Deception Creek
- Sawyer Creek
- Fisher Creek
  - unnamed
    - Ptarmigan Lake
  - Fisher Lake
unnamed
- Deception Lakes
Surprise Creek
- Scenic Screek
- unnamed
  - Spark Plug Lake
- Surprise Lake
  - Glacier Lake
Tunnel Creek

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Analysis, Snohomish River Watershed: Tye River . Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. 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. Retrieved July 21, 2009. @1@ 2

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Analysis, Snohomish River Watershed . Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. 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. Retrieved July 21, 2009. @1@ 2

↑ Historical data, water years 1929-1931 and 1946, for USGS gage 12129000, Tye River near Skykomish, WA . USGS . Retrieved August 3, 2009.

↑ Fred Beckey : Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass , 3rd Edition, The Mountaineers , 2003, p. 23.

↑ Tacoma Public Library ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) 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. , Washington Place Names @1@ 2

↑ TYE, William Francis , Biographical Dictionary of Canadian Engineers

↑ General information on the run from the topographic maps of the USGS, accessed via the tool "GNIS in Google Map" from the USGS- GNIS website.

Web links

Switchbacks over the Stevens Pass (in English)

Tye River in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System - source and destination coordinates

[snotye-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Analysis, Snohomish River Watershed: Tye River . Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. 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. Retrieved July 21, 2009. @1@ 2

[snofull-2] Salmonid Habitat Limiting Factors Analysis, Snohomish River Watershed . Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. 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. Retrieved July 21, 2009. @1@ 2

[discharge-3] Historical data, water years 1929-1931 and 1946, for USGS gage 12129000, Tye River near Skykomish, WA . USGS . Retrieved August 3, 2009.

[4] Fred Beckey : Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass , 3rd Edition, The Mountaineers , 2003, p. 23.

[5] Tacoma Public Library ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) 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. , Washington Place Names @1@ 2

[6] TYE, William Francis , Biographical Dictionary of Canadian Engineers

[topo-7] General information on the run from the topographic maps of the USGS, accessed via the tool "GNIS in Google Map" from the USGS- GNIS website.