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Olympic National Park
Historic Range in the Elwha - Sockeye Salmon

Historic Range:
Since they prefer to spawn near lakeshores and tributaries of lakes, sockeye salmon had a much smaller range in the Elwha River than the other anadromous species. Historically, they would travel up the Elwha to Lake Sutherland and spawn along its gravel shores. The lake’s shoreline has the potential of supporting over 3,000 spawning fish. Construction of the Elwha dam made Lake Sutherland inaccessible to adults attempting to swim upstream. Fisheries biologists anticipate that "land-locked" sockeye, or kokanee, currently living in Lake Sutherland, will provide the source for new anadromous sockeye runs once the dams are removed.

Diagram:
—The red line represents the theoretical historic range of sockeye salmon in the Elwha River.

 
Historic sockeye
Historic range of sockeye salmon in the Elwha River.
 
 
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This webpage was made possible in part by a grant from Washington's National Park Fund.
closeup of cow elk face  

Did You Know?
Olympic National Park protects the largest unmanaged herd of Roosevelt elk in the world. Olympic was almost named "Elk National Park" and was established in part to protect these stately animals.

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Last Updated: February 02, 2009 at 18:50 EST