| Cedar River | |
|---|---|
 Cedar River in 1900
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | King |
| Major cities | Maple Valley, Renton |
| Length | 45 mi (72 km) [1] |
| Watershed | 184 sq mi (477 km²) [2] |
| Discharge at | Renton |
| - average | 659 cu ft/s (19 m³/s) [2] |
| - maximum | 10,600 cu ft/s (300 m³/s) |
| - minimum | 30 cu ft/s (1 m³/s) |
| Source | Cascade Range |
| - coordinates | [3] |
| - elevation | 2,220 ft (677 m) [4] |
| Mouth | Lake Washington |
| - coordinates | [3] |
| - elevation | 17 ft (5 m) [4] |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Rex River |
The Cedar River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About 45 miles long (72 km), it originates in the Cascade Range and flows generally west and northwest, emptying into the southern end of Lake Washington. Lake Washington is the second largest natural Lake in state of Washington (after Lake Chelan) and the largest lake in King County. Its upper watershed is a protected area called the Cedar River Watershed, which provides drinking water for the greater Seattle area. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not
The Cedar River, via Lake Washington and the Lake Washington Ship Canal, drains into Puget Sound. The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through Seattle Washington connecting Lake Washington to Puget Sound, is a system consisting of from east Puget Sound (ˈpjuːʤᵻt is an arm of the Pacific Ocean, connected to the rest of the Pacific by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the Pacific Northwest
Contents |
Course
The Cedar River originates in the Cascade Range near Abiel Peak, Meadow Mountain, and Yakima Pass, along the King and Kittitas countyline. Kittitas County is a County located in the US state of Washington. Several headwater streams join in the high mountains, then the Cedar River flows generally west. It is impounded in Chester Morse Lake, a natural lake that was dammed in 1900 for use as a water storage reservoir. Chester Morse Lake (originally Cedar Lake is a Lake in the upper region of the Cedar River watershed in the U A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use The Rex River joins the Cedar in Chester Morse Lake, as do the two forks of the Cedar River, the north and south forks. [5]
Below the lake the Cedar River flows through a smaller lake called Masonry Pool. Below Masonry Pool the Cedar River flows by two former railroad sites, Bagley Junction and Trule. Then the river exits the Cedar River Watershed at Landsburg where pipelines route water to the Seattle area.
Below the Cedar River Watershed area the river flows west and north, past the city of Maple Valley and Renton. Maple Valley is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb situated 13 miles (21 km southeast of Seattle Washington, Renton At Renton the Cedar River empties into the southern end of Lake Washington. Lake Washington is the second largest natural Lake in state of Washington (after Lake Chelan) and the largest lake in King County. Its waters eventually enter Puget Sound via the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Puget Sound (ˈpjuːʤᵻt is an arm of the Pacific Ocean, connected to the rest of the Pacific by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the Pacific Northwest [6]
River modifications and management
The upper Cedar River watershed is a protected area called the Cedar River Watershed. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, About 90,000 acres (364 km²) in size, it is owned by the City of Seattle. The Cedar River Watershed provides drinking water for 1. 3 million people in the greater Seattle area. About two-thirds of King County uses water from the Cedar River Watershed, over 100 million gallons (378,500,000 litres) per day. King County is located in the US state of Washington. The population in the 2000 census was 1737034 and in 2006 was an estimated 1835300 The reservoirs and pipeline infrastructure is owned and operated by Seattle Public Utilities. Seattle Public Utilities (SPU is a Public utility agency of the city of Seattle Washington, which provides Water, Sewer, Drainage Public access is restricted and the area is managed as a wilderness in order to protect water quality. Wilderness is generally defined as a Natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by Human activity [5]
Chester Morse Lake is the main storage reservoir of the Cedar River Watershed system. Pipelines route water to the Seattle area from Landsburg, at the western edge of the protected watershed area.
Before 1912 the Cedar River did not empty into Lake Washington but rather into the Black River. The Black River was a River in King County in the US state of Washington. The Black River drained the southern end of Lake Washington, flowing south then west to join the Green River (Washington). The Green River is a 65 mile long river in the state of Washington in the United States, arising on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains south The Black-Green confluence created the Duwamish River, which emptied into Elliott Bay. The Duwamish River is the name of the lower 12 miles (19 km of Washington state's Green River. Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle Washington is located In 1911 there was a major flood along the lower Cedar River. This prompted the city of Renton to make a diversion canal so that the Cedar River emptied into Lake Washington instead of the Black River. The diversion was completed in 1912. The Cedar River's water, via Lake Washington, still ultimately flowed into the Black River, Duwamish River, and into Elliot Bay. [7]
In 1916 the Lake Washington Ship Canal's Montlake Cut was finished, connecting Lake Washington and Lake Union. The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the City of Seattle, linking Lake Washington Lake Union is a freshwater Lake entirely within the Seattle Washington city limits The water level of Lake Washington dropped 8. 8 feet (2. 7 m), to the level of Lake Union. As a result the outlet of Lake Washington became the Ship Canal instead of the Black River. The Black River dried up and no longer exists. [7] Thus today the Cedar River's water enter Lake Washington and then pass through the Ship Canal to Puget Sound, rather than into Elliott Bay via the Duwamish River. Anadromous fish, such as salmon, which used to migrate up the Duwamish and Black rivers to reach the Cedar River, now migrate through the Ship Canal and Lake Washington.
The upper Cedar River flows through a region of deep and porous glacial till. Till is unsorted glacial sediment Glacial drift is a general term for the coarsely graded and extremely heterogeneous Sediments of glacial origin A large amount of water seeps into the ground, forming an aquifer. An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay Most of this underground water eventually returns to the surface as springs, flowing mainly into the Cedar River as well as the Snoqualmie River and Rattlesnake Lake. A spring is a point where Groundwater flows out of the ground and is thus where the Aquifer surface meets the ground surface The Snoqualmie River is a 45 mile (72 km long River in the central portion of King County Washington. Rattlesnake Lake is a Lake in King County Washington, located in Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area some east of Seattle. This process acts as a kind of natural water filtration system. Water purification is the process of removing contaminants and other harmful microorganisms from a raw water source As a result, the Cedar River is one of the few rivers in the United States used for drinking water without requiring specially fabricated filtration. [5]
Just south of the Cedar River Watershed is a similar protected area used for drinking water: the Green River Watershed, which supplies water to the greater Tacoma area. [8]
History
Efforts to use the Cedar River as a water source began in the 1890s. A dam was built at Landsburg and water diverted into a 29 mile pipeline. The pipeline sent water to reservoirs in Seattle's Volunteer Park and Lincoln reservoirs on Capitol Hill. Volunteer Park is a 483 acre (195000 m² Park in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood of Seattle, USA. Capitol Hill is the second most densely populated Neighborhood in Seattle Washington, United States, after Belltown (in northern downtown The first deliveries occurred in 1901. A second pipeline was built in 1909 and a third in 1923. [9][10]
By 1899 the City of Seattle had acquired ownership of most of the Cedar River Watershed. Some land remained privately owned, mainly by logging companies and sawmills. Logging is the process in which Trees are cut down for Forest management and Timber. A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards Sawmill process A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago a log enters Before 1924 large sections of the forest were cut for timber. Wildfires burned more forests in the wake of logging operations. A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat fire, In 1924 the City of Seattle began the process of managing the Cedar River Watershed with a plan of ensuring water quality for the future. Logging continued, but methods were increasingly regulated and fire precautions strengthened. The 1962 Cedar River Watershed Cooperative Agreement began the process of transferring the remaining privately owned land to the City of Seattle. In 1996 the United States Forest Service ceded its land in the watershed to Seattle. As a result, the city is the sole owner of the Cedar River Watershed area of the upper Cedar River. [5]
Natural history
The Cedar River provides habitat for anadromous fish including Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Sockeye salmon, and Steelhead trout. Many types of fish undertake migrations on a regular basis on time scales ranging from daily to annual and with distances ranging from a few meters to thousands of kilometers The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, (from the Russian кижуч kizhuch) is a Species of Anadromous Fish Sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka) also called red salmon or blueback salmon, is an Anadromous Species of Salmon The rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of Salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America [11]
About 14,000 acres (57 km²) of the protected area is old growth forest. Ancient Woodland Old growth forest, (also termed primary forest, ancient forest, virgin forest, primeval forest, frontier [12][11] Due to logging in the early 20th century, only about 17% of the Cedar River Watershed consists of old growth forest. The remaining forests are today thick with second growth forests. Secondary, or second-growth, forest is a Forest or Woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as Fire, Insect [5]
The Cedar River Watershed provides habitat for a variety of wildlife. A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species. Deforestation and associated erosion in the early 20th century resulted in a degraded habitat for wildlife. Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind Starting in the late 20th century efforts began to be made to protect and restore the river and its watershed. Salmon runs have been a major topic of concern, with work underway to recreate spawning channels, proper salmon habitat zones, and fish ladders. The salmon run is the time at which Salmon Swim back up the Rivers in which they were born to spawn. Fishways, most commonly called fish ladders but also known as fish passes and in Australia also referred to as fish steps, are structures on or around artificial [5]
See also
- List of Washington rivers
- History of Seattle 1900-1940
References
- ^ Cedar River, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America
- ^ a b Lake Washington Basin, Water Resource Data, Washington, 2005, USGS. This is a list of rivers in the US state of Washington. By Drainage Basin This list is arranged by drainage basin with respective tributaries The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government.
- ^ a b USGS GNIS: Cedar River (Washington)
- ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates. Google Earth is a Virtual globe program that was originally called Earth Viewer and was created by Keyhole Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004 The Geographic Names Information System ( GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout
- ^ a b c d e f Cedar River Watershed Environmental Overview, HistoryLink Essay.
- ^ General course info from (2000) Washington Road & Recreation Atlas. Benchmark Maps. Benchmark Maps is a map-publishing company based in Medford Oregon.
- ^ a b Black River disappears in July 1916, HistoryLink.
- ^ Source Protection, Tacoma Water.
- ^ Guide to the Cedar River Watershed Maps 1891-1970, Northwest Digital Archives.
- ^ Guide to the Seattle Watershed and Pipeline Aerial Photographs 1930-1989, Northwest Digital Archives.
- ^ a b Cedar River Watershed, Friends of the Cedar River Watershed.
- ^ Cedar River Watershed, Seattle Public Utilities.
External links
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