The Yakima River Delta is an area of land in Richland,

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 on ...

where the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam Nat ...

enters the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

at River Mile 335. It hosts several protected areas and is crossed by State Route 240. This area is mostly

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

with riparian-type growth, including non-native species such as

Russian olive ''Elaeagnus angustifolia'', commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of ''Elaeagnus'', native to western and central Asia, Iran, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey, parts of Pakistan and parts of ...

Amon Creek Amon Creek is the largest tributary of the Lower Yakima River in Benton County, Washington. From the source of its East Fork to its mouth at the Yakima, it flows about , passing through Kennewick and Richland. The East Fork as well as the main c ...

enters the Yakima River in this area. The area is used extensively for recreational purposes, such as kayaking and hiking. The

Sacagawea Heritage Trail The Sacagawea Heritage Trail is a relatively flat multi-use recreational trail in the Tri-Cities, Washington. It travels along the Columbia River for its entire length, forming a loop that connects Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. The entire trail ...

, a bike path traveling through all three cities in the Tri-Cities, crosses the delta alongside State Route 240. The delta is generally bounded by Columbia Park Trail to the south and

Interstate 182 Interstate 182 (I-182) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It serves as a connector from I-82 to the Tri-Cities region that crosses the Columbia River on the Interstate 182 Bridge between Rich ...

to the north. A small portion of extends to the north of I-182 between Queensgate Drive and the Bypass Highway toward the site of the

Duportail Bridge The Duportail Bridge is a four-lane bridge in Richland, Washington, United States, over the Yakima River and Columbia Canal. It opened on December 16, 2020, and connects the Queensgate area with downtown Richland via Duportail Street. History ...

. The portion to the east of State Route 240 is dotted by numerous islands, and

Bateman Island Bateman Island is an island located on the Columbia River immediately east of the Yakima River Delta between the cities of Richland and Kennewick, Washington, in the United States. It is approximately long and wide () and is part of the city of ...

lies immediately to the east.

Protected Areas

Most of the delta is located within protected areas. The entirety of the south side of the Yakima River, as well as a portion on the west side of the river to the north of I-182, are contained within the Yakima Delta Wildlife Management Unit which is owned by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The Unit encompasses approximately . The portion of the delta directly south of Columbia Point is also within the unit. To the north of the river west of State Route 240 is the Chamna Natural Preserve, which is owned by the city but jointly maintained by the Tapteal Greenway. The preserve is home to of hiking trails with interpretive signage to provide visitors with descriptions of the plants and wildlife that can be found within its boundaries. Chamna was the name of a nearby Native American village. Both sections are day-use areas where camping and hunting are prohibited.

Ecology

Despite being positioned within an arid climate, the delta provides habitat to a wide variety of plant and animal life. Numerous birds frequent the area, including more unusual species such as

marbled godwit The marbled godwit (''Limosa fedoa'') is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit. Taxonomy In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a ...

and red phalarope.

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

are an important species that inhabit the waters, which are controlled by the McNary Dam near Umatilla,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The dense riparian forest adjacent to more desert plant life make it susceptible to wildfires, one of which occurred in 2011. Current threats to the ecology of the area include recreational overuse and invasive species.

Restoration

Several agencies have worked to restore the ecology of the river delta in recent years with other projects in their planning stages. Repeated efforts to control invasive species are conducted by the Benton County Conservation District and Noxious Weed Control Board. These efforts are to control common reeds, which tend to group together choking out native plants. Beyond this, they create a habitat for mosquitos, which then create a public health hazard. The Tapteal Greenway and City of Richland removed 16 tons of garbage from the Chamna Natural Preserve. The construction of the causeway connecting Bateman Island to the shore around 1940 dammed water that previously flowed between the island and the shore, causing temperatures to sharply increase in the water to the west of the island. This water temperature provides an ideal habitat for exotic species to feed on juvenile salmon in the spring. The causeway also blocks adult salmon heading upstream from entering the Yakima River as they had done before it was built. Restoring the natural flow on the south side of the island, along with other restoration projects throughout the Lower Yakima Basin could provide billions of dollars to the economy.

References

{{Protected areas of the Tri-Cities Landforms of Benton County, Washington Protected areas of Benton County, Washington Tri-Cities, Washington Yakima River River deltas of the United States