Elwha River Restoration Fact Sheet

Elwha River :

  1. Mainstream is 45 miles long
  2. 100 miles of tributary streams
    1. There are three tributaries greater than 4 miles in length
    2. Boulder Creek and Cat Creek Tributaries drain into Lake Mills
    3. Indian Creek(Not within the NPS Boundaries) drains into Lake Sutherland
  3. Drains 321 square miles of the Olympic Peninsula
  4. 83% (266 square miles) lie within the NPS, protected from timber harvest, agriculture, and other lan(i disturbances.
  5. It is the 4th largest river by drainage area among all Olympic Peninsula streams
  6. River flows into the Strait of Juan de Fuca , five miles west of Port Angeles
  7. Two major hydroelectric dams have altered the condition of the Elwha River
  8. Restoration projected guided by the National Park Service within the Department of Interior.
  9. For the EIS the river is divided into three reaches
    1. Upper Reach-Ups~ream of Glines CanY~R-am (266 square miles)
      1. Remains in its Natural old growth state.
    2. Middle Reach-Portion between the two dams (55 square miles)
    3. Lower Reach-Length below the Elwha Dam (12 square miles)
  10. The EIS divides the full Elwha Watershed into Tree Separate subwatersheds
    1. Elwha Corridor
    2. Indian Creek Subwatershed (outside the NPS boundaries)-subject to management of the EMMT, except for fish and habitat issues, extensive logging has occurred currently 2nd growth trees.
    3. Little River Subwatershed (outside the NPS boundaries)-subject to management of the EMMT, except for fish and habitat issues, extensive logging has occurred currently 2nd growth trees.

 

Elwha Dam:

  1. Construction began in 1910
  2. Construction completed 1912
  3. Location is river mile 4.9
  4. Length of Lake Aldwell reservoir is 2.5 miles.
  5. Acquired by Federal Government in 2000
  6. 5 million cubic yards of sediment behind dam
  7. Dam is 105 ft hight
  8. Lake Aldwell surface area is 267 acres

Glines Canyon Dam:

  1. Constructed 1927
  2. It is 210 feet high
  3. Location is river mile 13.6
  4. Lake Mills surface area 415 acres 
 

River Restoration Project

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