Glines Canyon Dam, also known as Upper Elwha Dam, built in 1927, was a high concrete
arch dam
An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthe ...
built on the
Elwha River
The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's course is within the O ...
within
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...
,
Clallam County, Washington
Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 78,209 in 2021. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles; the county as a whole comprises the ...
.
It was located upstream from the mouth of the
Elwha River
The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's course is within the O ...
at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and about 8 miles upriver from the Elwha Dam. It impounded
Lake Mills reservoir. The dam was demolished in 2014 as part of the
Elwha River ecosystem restoration project; as of 2015 it is the tallest dam ever to be intentionally breached. The Glines Canyon Dam was the largest dam removal ever.
History
The dam was built privately to generate electricity for industries and major military installations on the Olympic Peninsula, including lumber and paper mills in Port Angeles.
The Glines Canyon Hydroelectric Power Plant
historic district, a area comprising the dam, the powerhouse, and the water conveying system, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1988.
[ and ]
Effects of dam on river habitat and area ecology
Lacking passage for migrating
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
, Glines Canyon Dam blocked access by
anadromous salmonids
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whit ...
to the upper 38 miles (61 km) of mainstem habitat and more than of tributary habitat. The
Elwha River
The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's course is within the O ...
watershed once supported salmon runs of more than 400,000 adult returns on more than of river habitat. By the early 21st-century, fewer than 4,000 adult salmon returned each year.
Habitat restoration
![Elwha river dams](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Elwha_river_dams.gif)
Numerous groups lobbied Congress to remove the two dams on the river and restore the habitat of the river and its valley. The Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 authorized the
US Federal Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...
to acquire the Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam hydroelectric power projects for decommissioning and demolition for
habitat restoration
Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...
.
The ''
Elwha Ecosystem Restoration'' project started in September 2011 as work to demolish the nearby
Elwha Dam began downstream. The final piece of the Glines Canyon Dam was removed August 26, 2014.
Now that the dam has been removed, the area that was under Lake Mills is being revegetated and its banks secured to prevent erosion and to speed up ecological restoration.
Gallery
File:Lake Mills.jpg
File:Glinescanyondam1.jpg
File:Glines Canyon Dam (removed) from above, Oct 2014.JPG, Glines Canyon Dam (removed) from above, Oct 2014
File:Glines Canyon Dam (removed) from inside reservoir, Oct 2014.JPG, Glines Canyon Dam (removed) from inside reservoir, Oct 2014
See also
*
Elwha Dam
References
Sources
* Grossman, Elizabeth (2002). ''Watershed: The Undamming of America'', Basic Books, .
* Mapes, Lynda V. (2016). "Elway: Roaring Back to Life," The Seattle Times. http://projects.seattletimes.com/2016/elwha/
External links
Glines Canyon Dam Removal Process- animation
*
ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18401162 "Demolition dam: Why dismantle a huge river barrier?" BBC video
Elwha River Restoration National Park Service
*
*
{{Authority control
Former dams
Dams in Washington (state)
Demolished buildings and structures in Washington (state)
Demolished power stations in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Olympic National Park
Buildings and structures in Clallam County, Washington
Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state)
Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
Dams completed in 1927
Energy infrastructure completed in 1927
Buildings and structures demolished in 2014
Historic American Engineering Record in Washington (state)
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Clallam County, Washington
2014 disestablishments in Washington (state)
1927 establishments in Washington (state)
Former power stations in Washington (state)