Hundreds of visitors saw the Elwha River mouth and the lower dam during the Sept. 16-18 commemoration of the beginning of the removal of the two Elwha River dams.
A few had the chance to soar over the Elwha watershed to get a bird’s-eye view of the river’s source, its dams and an aerial insight into the river’s expanse.
Rite Brothers Aviation and NatureBridge, formerly Olympic Park Institute, offered river flights in its Cessna 206 six-seat plane Sept. 18, taking off from William R. Fairchild International Airport with a guide aboard.
NatureBridge offers educational programs based on the Elwha watershed for students in kindergarten through high school.
The 45-minute flight followed the river from its mouth at the Strait of Juan de Fuca to its headwaters at the Snow Finger, between Mount Queets and Mount Barnes.
The plane passed over the Lower Elwha Klallam reservation, the fish hatchery, the Elwha bridge seining site, both dams and past the Olympic National Park’s visitor center at Hurricane Ridge.
With NatureBridge educator Ned Buckingham, 26, of Port Angeles acting as docent, four passengers were treated to sights usually reserved for eagles.
From the air, the coast stretches out to either side of the river mouth, with the smooth, rolling river flood plain giving way to a higher shelf divided by the river’s wide, ancient channel.
A patchwork of forested glades, pastures and neighborhoods spread across the coastal plain on either side of the braided river bed.
The lower reaches of the Elwha are home to most of the eight species of salmon that return from the sea each year, Buckingham said.
For the first five miles of the river, tributaries fanned out from the relatively gentle, wide and meandering river.
Those creeks and streams provide limited spawning ground for some species of salmon, he said.
Many, like the chinook, prefer the upper reaches of the main stem of the river and are barred by the dams, he said.
As the plane passed the Elwha Dam and Lake Aldwell’s now-muddy delta, piles of logs and dam removal equipment stood out from the clear blue water, and a bathtub ring of mud showed around the lowered lake’s shores.
Between Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam, Indian Creek was visible, coursing down the slope from Lake Sutherland.
Lake Sutherland and Lake Aldwell are home to landlocked sockeye salmon, known as kokanee salmon, Buckingham said.
Because of having fewer available food sources, kokanee salmon are smaller than their oceangoing relatives and have been trapped upstream since the first dam was built 98 years ago, he said.
“We think they will return to the ocean once the dam is gone,” he said.
As the plane passed Lake Aldwell, the terrain changed — the coastal plain and hills fell behind and few homes dotted the forested slopes.
The changes to the lake above Glines Canyon Dam was less obvious than Lake Aldwell until the long delta, formed by sediments trapped by the lake, came into view.
From above, the view was clear of rusty red-lined channels in the mud.
Red stains along the new channels are caused by buildups of alder bark, Buckingham said.
Above Lake Mills, the river alternately twists through narrow canyons and meanders across wide, flat glacial valleys.
“The river has only come down to summer levels in the past few weeks, Buckingham said.
Once the plane flew past the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, the Elwha River canyon made a long “J” curve.
There, the canyon’s sides are steep, and smaller canyons branch off to either side.
Some hillsides featured high horsetail waterfalls cascading down the slopes, and long avalanche chutes are carved into the forest.
The Elwha watershed covers 321 square miles of mountains and plains, with 70 miles of river and tributaries — most of the land that could be seen from the plane.
Buckingham pointed out the boundaries of the watershed along snow-covered mountain ridges.
Most of the tributaries in the upper reaches are too steep for the fish, he said.
At that altitude, only the largest salmon pass — those which spawn in the upper reaches of the main river itself, he said.
The trip ended at a high pass, filled with a long finger of long-lasting snow that with many of the surrounding glaciers and snow fields create the Elwha River.
Few fish even get close to the snow finger, Buckingham said.
After a long, slow turn, the plane retraced its path down the river, and returned to Port Angeles.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.