Tumwater Falls
| Tumwater Falls | |
|---|---|
 Upper Tumwater Falls, pictured in 2007 | |
 | |
| Location | Tumwater, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°00′53″N 122°54′17″W / 47.0147°N 122.9046°W |
| Total height | 82 ft (25 m)[1][2] |
| Number of drops | 2 |
| Longest drop | 25 ft (7.6 m)[3] |
| Watercourse | Deschutes River |
| Average flow rate | 400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) |
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
[edit]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.[4]
History
[edit]
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. A footbridge across the falls was constructed in the 1860s, and the current bridge dates to around 1890.[5]
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.[6]: 23 The plant powered an Olympia–Tumwater streetcar, among other things.[7][8] A dam at 82 feet (25 m) above sea level created a head for the powerhouse and still stands on the Deschutes River.[2]
The Tumwater Falls created an impassable barrier to salmon until 1952, when a fish ladder was built by the Washington Department of Fisheries (now the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife), to provide salmon access to the newly constructed fish hatchery located immediately above the falls. Prior to the 1952 hatchery operations, the Deschutes river above the Tumwater Falls lacked a natural salmon run.[9]
In 1962, Olympia Brewing Company donated 15 acres (6.1 ha) of land surrounding the falls to the Olympia-Tumwater Foundation, and Tumwater Falls Park was created. The park receives 200,000 visitors annually.[1][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Tumwater Falls Park, Olympia Tumwater Foundation, archived from the original on 2015-02-11
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tumwater Falls Dam
- ^ Bryan Swan, "Tumwater Falls", Northwest Waterfall Survey, retrieved 2015-07-06
- ^ a b Emmett O'Connell (September 14, 2012), "Tumwater Falls Park Celebrates 50 Years", Thurston Talk
- ^ "The Historic Tumwater Falls Bridge". Thurston Talk. Olympia, WA. 30 Jul 2022. Retrieved 9 Apr 2024.
- ^ Lockman, Heather; Wulfsberg, Carla (2010), Images of America: Tumwater, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738581279
- ^ Asahel Curtis (c. 1906), "Hydroelectric power plant of Olympia Light & Power Co., Deschutes River, at Tumwater Falls, Tumwater", Asahel Curtis collection, University of Washington digital collections, retrieved 2015-07-06
- ^ Olympia Light and Power, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, October 5, 2014
- ^ "Fish Ladder - 6/21/15". Olympiahistory.org. Olympia Historical Society. 21 Jun 2015. Retrieved 9 Apr 2024.
External links
[edit]
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tumwater Falls Dam
- A River Flows Through It: Thurston County’s Deschutes River from Thurston County and cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater's "Stream Team"
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