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Watershed Park
Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails. History The park takes its name from the watershed of Moxlie Creek. Water wells for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential Western Washington businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917. After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a Washington Supreme Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European settlers claimed the area in 1846, with the Treaty of Medicine Creek initiated in 1854, followed by the Treaty of Olympia in 1856. Olympia was incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, and as a city in 1882. It had a population of 55,605 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the state's 23rd-largest city. Olympia borders Lacey to the east and Tumwater to the south. History The site of Olympia had been home to Lushootseed-speaking peoples known as the Steh-Chass (or Stehchass, later part of the post-treaty Squaxin Island Tribe) for thousands of years. Other Native Americans regularly visited the head of Budd Inlet and the Steh-Chass, including the other ancestor tribes of the Squaxin, as well as the Nisqually, Puyallup, Chehal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastal Cutthroat Trout
The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi-anadromous or sea-run form is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than from the ocean. Adults migrate from the ocean to spawn in fresh water. Juveniles migrate to the sea where they feed and become sexually mature before returning to fresh water to overwinter and spawn. Unlike steelhead and Pacific salmon, coastal cutthroat do not make lengthy m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gypsy Moth
''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' being clearly identifiable without ambiguity. ''Lymantria dispar'' has been introduced to several continents and is now found in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and South America. The polyphagous larvae live on a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees and can cause severe damage in years of mass reproduction. Due to these features, ''Lymantria dispar'' is listed among the world's 100 worst invasive alien species. Etymology The name “gypsy moth” does not have conclusive origins, however it has been in use since 1908. Moths of the subfamily Lymantriinae are commonly called tussock moths due to the tussock-like tufts of hair on the caterpillars.The Gypsy Moth: Research Toward Integrated Pest Management, United States Department o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tumwater Falls
The Tumwater Falls are a series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington, United States. They are located near where the river empties into Budd Inlet, a southerly arm of Puget Sound in Olympia. Geology The Deschutes River carved a course through glacial debris left after the Pleistocene ice age until it reached volcanic bedrock, forming the falls as it coursed down to Puget Sound. History Tumwater Falls was the site of New Market, the first European settlement in Western Washington. It was also the site of the now-defunct Olympia Brewing Company. Olympia Light and Power Company constructed a dam and a hydroelectric power plant at the falls in 1890, a decade before the Snoqualmie Falls powerplant outside Seattle. The plant powered an Olympia–Tumwater streetcar, among other things. A dam at above sea level created a head for the powerhouse and still stands on the Deschutes River. The Tumwater Falls created an impassable barrier to salmon until 1952, when a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karen Fraser Woodland Trail
The Karen Fraser Woodland Trail is a paved rail trail in Thurston County, Washington that connects the cities of Olympia, Washington, Olympia and Lacey, Washington, Lacey along the abandoned Burlington Northern corridor. The trail opened in 2007 and connects with the Chehalis Western Trail at the border between the two cities. The Olympia trailhead features a sustainably designed shelter and restroom with a Green roof, living roof and a rain garden and parts of the trail run alongside Indian Creek (Olympia), Indian Creek. Route At the beginning trailhead at Watershed Park, the Karen Fraser Woodland Trail meanders west, briefly following Interstate 5 and Indian Creek before crossing through the Olympia border into the city of Lacey. The trail crosses the Chehalis Western Trail, at a roundabout connection named Hub Junction, and continues on a westerly path past the Lacey Depot, a picnic and trained-themed playground area. The trail terminates past Woodland Creek Community Park near ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil's Club
Devil's club or devil's walking stick (''Oplopanax horridus'', Araliaceae; syn. ''Echinopanax horridus'', ''Fatsia horrida'') is a large understory shrub native to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, but also disjunct on islands in Lake Superior. It is noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in noxious and irritating spines. It is also known as Alaskan ginseng and similar names, although it is not a true ginseng. Description Devil's club generally grows to tall. Some stands located in rainforest gullies or moist, undisturbed areas can reach heights of or more. The spines are found along the upper and lower surfaces of veins of its leaves as well as the stems. The leaves are spirally arranged on the stems, simple, palmately lobed with 5–13 lobes, across. The flowers are produced in dense umbels diameter, each flower small, with five greenish-white petals. The fruit is a small red drupe diameter. The plant is covered with brittle yellow s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polystichum Munitum
''Polystichum munitum'', the western swordfern, is an evergreen perennial fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with disjunctive populations in northern British Columbia, Canada; the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States; and Guadalupe Island off of Baja California, Mexico. Western swordfern is known to have locally naturalized in parts of Great Britain and Ireland. Description The dark green fronds of this fern grow tall, in a tight clump spreading out radially from a round base. They are single-pinnate, with the pinnae alternating on the stalk. Each pinna is long, with a small upward-pointing lobe (a sword hilt, hence the name) at the base, and the edges are serrated with bristly tips. Individual fronds live for 1.5 to 2.5 years and remai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Licorice Fern
''Polypodium glycyrrhiza'', commonly known as licorice fern, many-footed fern, and sweet root, is a summer deciduous fern native to western North America, where it is found in shaded, damp locations. Spores are located in rounded sori on the undersides of the fronds, and are released in cool weather and high humidity. Description Licorice fern grows single fronds scattered along a thick creeping rhizome; the genus name ''Polypodium'' (many-footed) refers to this characteristic. The fronds are once-divided and triangular in shape, with finely-toothed margins and pointed leaflets. They are usually at least one foot in length, but may grow to be over two feet long, and may be much smaller when growth conditions are less ideal. They also display parallel venation. When sori are present on the leaf underside, they correspond with small bump-like protrusions on the top side of the leaves. The rhizome is creeping and the fronds appear to have random placement, originating at various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oregon Grape
''Mahonia aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing tall and wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow flowers in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black berries. The berries are included in the diet of some aboriginal peoples of the Pacific Northwest, and the species is recognized as the state flower of Oregon. Description ''M. aquifolium'' grows to tall by wide. The stems and twigs have a thickened, corky appearance. The leaves are pinnate and up to long, comprising spiny leaflets. The leathery leaves resemble those of holly. The yellow flowers are borne in dense clusters long in late spring. Each of the six stamens, terminates in two spreading branches. The six yellow petals are enclosed by six yellow sepals. At the base of the flower are three greenish-yellow bracts, less than half as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huckleberry
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal name variously called 'hurtleberry' or 'whortleberry' () for the Vaccinium myrtillus, bilberry. In North America the name was applied to numerous plant variations all bearing small berries with colors that may be red, blue or black. It is the common name for various ''Gaylussacia'' species, and some ''Vaccinium'' species, such as ''Vaccinium parvifolium'', the ''red huckleberry'', and is also applied to other ''Vaccinium'' species which may also be called blueberry, blueberries depending upon local custom, as in New England and parts of Appalachia. Taxonomy ''Gaylussacia'' Four species of huckleberries in the genus ''Gaylussacia'' are common in eastern North America, especially Gaylussacia b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incense Cedar
''Calocedrus'', the incense cedar (alternatively spelled incense-cedar), is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. It is native to eastern Asia and western North America. The generic name ''Calocedrus'' means "beautiful cedar". Description The genus is related to the ''Thuja'', and has similar overlapping scale-leaves. ''Calocedrus'' differs from ''Thuja'' in the scale leaves being in apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs like ''Thuja'', but not evenly spaced apart as in ''Thuja'', instead with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced), and in the cones having just 2–3 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, rather than 4–6 pairs of very thin scales in ''Thuja''. Species Extant Species Extinct Species Uses Bows and Arrows Incense cedar was one of the favored varieties of wood used to make bows by Native Americans in California. Like Juniper, and Pacific Yew, the other two cov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Alder
''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of . The official tallest red alder (as of 1979) stands tall in Clatsop County, Oregon (US). The trunks range from in diameter. The bark is mottled, ashy-gray and smooth, often colonized by white lichen and moss. The leaves are ovate, long, with bluntly serrated edges and a distinct point at the end; the leaf margin is revolute, the very edge being curled under, a diagnostic character which distinguishes it from all other alders. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn before falling. The male flowers are dangling reddish catkins long in early spring. Female flowers occur in clusters of (3) 4–6 (8). Female catkins are erect during anthesis, but otherwise pendant. They develop i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
