The Clallam River is a river in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. The river is over long.
Nearby and similar rivers include the
Pysht River
The Pysht River ( ) is a stream in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates near Ellis Mountain in the northern Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula and flows generally north, emptying into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Pysht and nearby ...
and
Hoko River
The Hoko River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains, and runs about to the Pacific Ocean through a rugged landscape that has been heavily logged. Its largest tributary is the Littl ...
.
Course
The Clallam River originates in the
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easte ...
near Ellis Mountain. It flows generally north collecting tributaries such as Blowder Creek, Charley Creek, Last Creek, and Pearson Creek before emptying into Clallam Bay, part of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
. The community of
Clallam Bay is located at the river's mouth.
Natural history
The Clallam River supports populations of
coho
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...
,
chum, and
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...
as well as
steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
and
coastal cutthroat trout.
[
The Clallam River is unusual in that sands and gravels frequently block the river's mouth. The river's lower course runs parallel to the sea, behind the gravel bars. Over the years the river repeatedly breaks through the barrier in different places, usually during periods of high stream flow. Sometimes migrating fish are trapped behind gravel barriers at the river's mouth. In July 1998 significant numbers of Steelhead trout were trapped in this way. The Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition had a channel cleared through the gravel bar, allowing the fish to escape.]
See also
* List of rivers of Washington
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Washington.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin. Respective tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name and are ordered downstream to upstream.
Fraser River (Britis ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Washington (state)
Rivers of Clallam County, Washington