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This is a rewrite attempt. For the actual Duwamish River page, see Duwamish River

Duwamish River
Template:Lang-lut
Map of the Duwamish/Green River watershed with the Duwamish highlighted
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CitiesSeattle, Tukwila
Physical characteristics
SourceGreen River
MouthElliott Bay
Length12 mi (19 km)
Discharge 
 • locationElliott Bay

Name

The Lushootseed term Template:Lang-lut, referred to the inland region centered on the confluence of the Duwamish, Black, Cedar and Green rivers. dxʷdəw was a major center of settlement, with multiple towns.[1] dxʷdəw may have initially been the name of a single village in the region.[2]

The Duwamish people (Template:Lang-lut) take their name from this region. Euro-American settlers named the river after the Duwamish tribe in the early 19th century.[1]

Course

In its present course, the Duwamish is 12 miles in length. The Green River becomes the Duwamish at the confluence with the Black River in Fort Dent Park, Tukwila, adjacent to the city limits of Renton. It flows through various bends in Tukwila, before broadening into the Duwamish Waterway shortly before entering Seattle city limits adjacent to Boeing Field. The waterway splits into east and west channels at the artificial Harbor Island before reaching Elliott Bay.

Bridges

Going upstream from the river's source, a small pedestrian bridge crosses the river at the Foster Golf Course. 56th Avenue S, Interstate 5, 42nd Ave S, East Marginal Way, and Tukwila International Boulevard cross the river in Tukwila, alongside a pedestrian bridge at S 119th St.[3] Straddling the city limits of Seattle is the South Park Bridge. Within the city itself are the First Avenue South Bridge and West Seattle Bridge.[4] The Spokane Street Swing Bridge spans the western channel of the Duwamish Waterway, connecting the Harbor Island to West Seattle.[5]

Geology

The oldest rocks in the Duwamish valley are Eocene sedimentary rocks of the Puget Group, subdivided into the Renton and Tukwila Formations, the latter interrupted by isolated andesite sills. A separate formation of marine sedimentary rocks contains shallow-water marine fossils mixed with volcaniclastic rocks. Additional sedimentary rocks date from Oligocene in the Blakeley Formation.[6]

A map showing the Pacific Northwest during the ice age.
Extent of the Cordilleran ice sheet during the Missoula floods

The Puget lowlands have been scoured by the expansion of the Cordilleran ice sheet during a series of six glaciations over the course of the Quaternary period. Each expansion led to a tongue of ice termed the "Puget Lobe" filling the lowland region between the Cascade and Olympic ranges. The Vashon Stade, the most recent of these glaciations, lasted from c. 15,000-13,000 BCE, forming the majority of the topography of the Puget Sound. During this period, Seattle and the future Duwamish river were buried under at least 3,000 feet (900 m) of ice. The present landscape of the region sits atop several hundred meters of glacial sediment.[7]

The Duwamish valley was scoured by glacial meltwater from the Cordilleran ice sheet. A large freshwater lake, fed by the meltwater, formed in the southern Puget Sound as the ice retreated following the glacial maximum. Recessional outwash was deposited atop the channels. [8] By c. 12,900 BCE, the Puget Lobe had retreated northward to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, allowing seawater to fill the basin. This was offset by significant post-glacial rebound of up to 650 feet (200 m) in the northern lowlands, which was partially overcome by a 300 feet (90 m) sea level rise over the succeeding millennia.[9]

Following these rise of sea levels, a large inlet of the Puget Sound occupied what would later become the Duwamish, stretching to the present location of Auburn. Marine shells have been found in fossil deposits in the Duwamish valley.[10] The Green River formed a delta on the southeastern bank of the inlet. Further inland, the Puyallup split into two distributaries, flowing alternatively into deltas at the Duwamish and Puyallup inlets. Around 3700 BCE, a large lahar known as the Osceola Mudflow erupted from the collapsing northeastern flank of Mount Rainier, filling the two inlets with volcanic debris.[11][12] Late Holocene geologic formations in the region feature alluvial deposits alongside lahar sediment.[13]

History

Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish peoples occupied the region for thousands of years prior to colonization. The earliest evidence of human habitation in the Duwamish watershed dates to c. 12,000 BCE.[14] The eponymous Duwamish people (Template:Lang-lut) occupied the river basin prior to colonization. The lower river valley was densely populated, with three major settlements. túʔulʔaltxʷ ("Herring's House") had a large potlatch house and at least three longhouses. Across the estuary at tutúɬaqs ("Little-bit-straight Point") were another three longhouses. Slightly inland was the village of yəlíqʷad ("Basketry Hat"), with three large longhouses abandoned during a regional smallpox epidemic in the 1770s.[15] Denser settlement increased towards the Duwamish heartland in the dxʷdəw, with at least three towns located in the region prior to American settlement.[16][1] Coast Salish villages were typically comprised of longhouses occupied by extended families. The density of settlement in the Duwamish river valley allowed for relative ease of trade and communication.[17]

Pacific salmon, caught in the Duwamish and adjacent rivers, was the staple protein of local Coast Salish. It could be readily preserved via smoking or drying, and different species of salmon had predictable and seasonal runs.[18] Shellfish such as oysters, geoduck, and cockles were gathered from the large mud flats at the river's mouth. Further inland, the Duwamish valley opened into forests containing the useful Douglas fir and redcedar, as well as game such as deer.[19] Plants such as berries and camas, at times managed by controlled burns, were also staple food sources.[17]

Exploration and colonial settlement

By the early 19th century, the Hudson's Bay Company loosely administered the Puget Sound area as part of the Columbia District fur-trading region, officially under joint British-American control. Indigenous interactions with the company were mainly limited to the outpost at Fort Nisqually. In 1846, with increasing numbers of settlers traveling the Oregon Trail, the area was officially transferred to full United States control.[20]

A sepia-toned photograph showing a woman and a horse standing on a ridge near the shore of a river, surrounded by trees
Undeveloped portion of the Duwamish, c. 1914

John Holgate canoed down the Duwamish along with two hired native guides in the summer of 1850. He considered settling, but ultimately did not stake a claim until returning to the area until 1853.[21][22] In the spring or summer of that year, Colonel Isaac Ebey conducted surveying in the area, canoeing down a portion of the river and recording it as the "Dewams".[23]

In September 1851, a party of homesteaders including Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, and Jacob Maple traveled from California to the Duwamish valley to stake farm claims.[24] Collins held the largest of the initial land claims, a 640 acre riverside parcel encompassing the modern neighborhood of Georgetown and portions of Beacon Hill.[25] Joseph and Stephen Foster settled further upriver in 1853 and began logging operations. Following the outbreak of the Puget Sound War in 1855, a military blockhouse was erected at the former site of a Duwamish village near the source of the river, now Fort Dent.[26]

Seattle was officially incorporated in 1865 and 1869; however, the initial territory of the city did not include the Duwamish Valley.

The Puget Sound mosquito fleet offered passenger ferry service on the Duwamish during the late 19th century, prior to the decline of the industry in the 1920s and 30s.[27]

Development and rerouting

In the mid-1890s, expansive railway terminal development proposals by Virgil Bogue were countered by City Engineer Reginald H. Thomson, arguing that it would interfere with the development of the Duwamish delta.[28]

Port of Seattle

Two maps showing the course of the Duwamish, White, Black, Green, and Cedar rivers. The left shows the rivers in 1899, where the White and Black flow into the Duwamish, while the Cedar flows into Lake Washington at a delta with the Black River. In 1959, the map shows the Cedar flowing into Lake Washington, the Green River flowing into the Duwamish, and the White flowing to the south off-screen
Map of the Duwamish and adjacent rivers before and after rerouting

In 1909, the Washington State Legislature authorized the creation of improvement districts to expand the lower Duwamish for the access of larger ships, as well as construct a ship canal allowing access to Lake Washington. These improvement districts would have the ability to issue bonds and levy taxes. King County voters approved a $1.75 million bond issue the following year. Efforts to expand the port were briefly blocked by legal intervention from rail interests, but these were opposed by other businesses. Governor Marion Hay supported the creation of a public port, which was instituted in March 1911 by the Port District Act. This act authorized the creation of port districts to construct and manage harbor facilities, including waterways. The Port of Seattle was created to expand the Duwamish Waterway and manage local harbor facilities. A former Populist union organizer, Robert Bridges, was chosen to represent the port's southern district, having previously campaigned as state land commissioner for improvements to the waterway.[29][30]

In 1900, the Seattle General Construction Company was given the permit to fill the Duwamish estuary tide flats. The Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was contracted to build an island on the flats using soil dredged from the river, as well as earth displaced during contemporary regrading efforts such as the Denny Regrade. The lone resident of the tidal flats, a chicken farmer named Charles Butler, was evicted from the area. Construction of the island was finalized in 1909, dividing the mouth of the Duwamish into east and west channels. The imminent opening of the Panama Canal prompted large-scale port development in Seattle, with voters approving a plan by Bogue calling for a series of massive piers to be constructed on the island. This was heavily opposed by Port Commissioner Hiram M. Chittenden, due to large investment restricting the Port's development resources. After construction bonds were posted, the Port Commission voided the bonds and shifted pier construction to Elliot Bay.[31][32]

Spring chinook and sockeye salmon runs greatly declined over the twentieth century, likely due to the river's rerouting.[33]

Further industrialization

Seattle's early sewer system, constructed in the first decade of the 1900s, pumped sewage and wastewater into local water sources, such as the Duwamish and Lake Washington. The sewer systems of Auburn, Kent, and Renton, constructed over the following decades, discharged untreated sewage into the tributaries of the Duwamish. Following worsening water conditions in the 1930s, several sewage pipelines previously discharging into Lake Washington were instead redirected to the river. The river's first sewage treatment plant was established along the river in 1940.[34]

Shipyards were established on the Harbor Island and the Duwamish Waterway during the early 1910s.[31] During World War II, dry docks owned by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation greatly expanded industrial production on the Harbor Island.[32] Boeing Plant 2, a military aircraft production facility, was constructed in the 1930s adjacent to the Duwamish and Boeing Field.

Contemporary history

Ecology

Flora

Marsh restoration efforts has

Fauna

Salmon runs of various species traverse the Duwamish to access Green River spawning grounds. Chinook, chum, and coho salmon are the most common, although pink and sockeye salmon are rarely found. Steelhead and cutthroat trout are found in the river, with occasional instances of bull trout. Chinook and chum juveniles often reside in the Duwamish estuary,[33] although may be threatened by river lamprey.[35] Shiner perch, staghorn sculpin, snake prickleback, starry flounder, and Pacific sand lance are commonly found. Sculpins and flounder frequently travel a significant distance upriver, able to tolerate low salinity environments.[36] Freshwater species in the river include redside shiner, mountain whitefish, and largescale suckers.[37]

Birds such as the great blue heron, western grebe, merganser, cormorant, pigeon guillemont, and kingfisher prey on juvenile salmon in the Duwamish estuary.[35]

Restoration

Recreation

A photograph of a park scene, with a man standing on the shore talking to a man in a small boat, a large barge and warehouses in the background, and a man on a bench reading in the foreground.
View of the river from Duwamish Waterway Park

The Port of Seattle owns various public parks along the Duwamish Waterway. Terminal 18 Park sits on the southwestern edge of the Harbor Island. On the western shoreline of the waterway are t̓uʔəlaltxʷ Village Park and həʔapus Village Park, near the Duwamish Longhouse. Jack Perry Park and sbəq̓ʷaʔ Park are on the eastern shore of the waterway in SoDo. Around the South Park neighborhood are Duwamish Waterway Park, t̓ałt̓ałucid Park, Duwamish River People's Park, and Salmon Cove Park, all on the western bank. The Lushootseed names t̓uʔəlaltxʷ, həʔapus, sbəq̓ʷaʔ, and t̓ałt̓ałucid, alongside Salmon Cove and Duwamish River People's Park, were implemented after community comment in October 2020.[38] These parks were previously named after shipping terminals and streets, described as confusing and difficult to locate.[39][40]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Thrush 2017, p. 154.
  2. ^ Cummings 2020, p. 23.
  3. ^ Cox, Adam (May 21, 2021). 2020 Presentation on the State of the City's Bridges (PDF) (Report). City of Tukwila Public Works Department.
  4. ^ Lindblom, Mike (October 29, 2020). "West Seattle motorists can't catch a break. Now First Avenue South Bridge needs urgent repairs". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Spokane St Swing Bridge Rehabilitation Program". Seattle Department of Transportation. September 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Palmer 1997, p. 1-2.
  7. ^ Booth, Haugerud & Troost 2003, pp. 20–21.
  8. ^ Palmer 1997, pp. 3–4.
  9. ^ Booth, Haugerud & Troost 2003, pp. 25–26.
  10. ^ Palmer 1997, p. 2.
  11. ^ Dragovich, Pringle & Walsh 1994, pp. 8–16.
  12. ^ Booth, Haugerud & Troost 2003, p. 24.
  13. ^ Palmer 1997, pp. 2–3.
  14. ^ Cummings 2020, p. 17.
  15. ^ Thrush 2017, p. 231.
  16. ^ Ruby 2010, p. 115.
  17. ^ a b Updegrave, Cynthia (December 31, 2016). "Duwamish-Green Watershed". HistoryLink. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  18. ^ Klingle 2007, pp. 21–22.
  19. ^ Klingle 2007, pp. 20–21.
  20. ^ Klingle 2007, pp. 25–27.
  21. ^ Lange, Greg (November 10, 2000). "John Holgate explores the Duwamish River by canoe but does not stake King County land claim during the summer of 1850". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  22. ^ Hill, Williams (August 23, 1997). "Dog Days: Duwamish Wasn't Always a Dirty Word". The Seattle Times. p. 8.
  23. ^ Lange, Greg (November 3, 2000). "Colonel Isaac Ebey surveys Puget Sound in the spring or summer of 1850". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  24. ^ Klinge 2007, p. 28.
  25. ^ Cummings 2020, p. 39-40.
  26. ^ Stein, Alan J. (January 3, 2003). "Fort Dent Park". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  27. ^ Oldham & Belcha 2011, p. 17.
  28. ^ Oldham & Belcha 2011, p. 21.
  29. ^ Oldham & Belcha 2011, pp. 20–25.
  30. ^ Oldham, Kit (February 12, 2020). "Port of Seattle commissioners meet for the first time on September 12, 1911". HistoryLink. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  31. ^ a b Wilma, David (November 6, 2001). "Harbor Island, at the time the world's largest artificial island, is completed in 1909". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Drosendahl, Glenn (January 4, 2024). "Harbor Island (Seattle): Hub of World War II Shipwork". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  33. ^ a b King County Department of Natural Resources 2001, p. 11-54.
  34. ^ Ott, Jennifer (July 14, 2016). "Wastewater Treatment and the Duwamish River". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  35. ^ a b City of Seattle's Salmon Team 2003, p. 65.
  36. ^ King County Department of Natural Resources 2001, p. 11-55.
  37. ^ King County Department of Natural Resources 2001, p. 11-56–11-57.
  38. ^ "Port Announces New Names for Six Parks along the Duwamish River". Port of Seattle. October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  39. ^ "Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names". Port of Seattle. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  40. ^ Campanario, Gabriel (May 18, 2011). "Parks by the port". The Seattle Times.

Bibliography

Sources

River histories

Cummings, BJ. The River That Made Seattle: A Human and Natural History of the Duwamish. University of Washington Press, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv125jv8s.

Cleveland High School, The Duwamish Diaries, 1949

Duwamish-Green Watershed, HistoryLink, 2016. https://www.historylink.org/File/20272

Sato, Mike. The Price of Taming a River: The Decline of Puget Sound's Duwamish/Green Waterway. The Mountaineers, Seattle. 1997

Wagner, Eric. Once and Future River: Reclaiming the Duwamish. University of Washington Press, Seattle. 2016.

Hanson, Howard A. “More Land for Industry: The Story of Flood Control in the Green River Valley.” The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 48, no. 1 (1957): 1–7. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40487215.

HistoryLink, Due to construction of Lake Washington Ship Canal, Lake Washington is lowered 9 feet beginning on August 28, 1916, and the Black River disappears. https://www.historylink.org/File/686

Histories of Seattle

Klingle, Matthew. Emerald City: An Environmental History of Seattle. Yale University Press, 2007. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1npdq8.

THRUSH, COLL. Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place. 2nd ed. University of Washington Press, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnvq3.

ASAKA, MEGAN. “Urban Roots of Puget Sound Agriculture.” In Seattle from the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City, 44–76. University of Washington Press, 2022. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv360nrbv.6.

Government reports

Chris Magan, Timothy Clark, Kate Macneale, Martin Grassley, Bob Bernhard, and Dean Wilson Water Quality Assessment and Monitoring Study: Analysis of Existing Data on the Duwamish Estuary https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2017/kcr2934/kcr2934.pdf

City of Seattle's Salmon Team. Seattle's Urban Blueprint for Habitat Protection and Restoration, Dec. 2003; Chp 9 Duwamish Estuary https://www.seattle.gov/util/cs/groups/public/@spu/@conservation/documents/webcontent/spu01_002696.pdf

Reconnaissance Assessment of the STATE OF THE NEARSHORE ECOSYSTEM, 2001 https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/services/environment/watersheds/central-puget-sound/nearshore-environments/reconnaissance-assessment

Holocene Geologic History and Sedimentology of the Duwamish and Puyallup Valleys, Washington https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ger_misc_holocene_duwamish_puyallup.pdf

Historical Aquatic Habitats in the Green and Duwamish River Valleys and the Elliott Bay Nearshore, King County, Washington https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/2005/kcr2038.pdf

Environmental scholarship

PURCELL, MARK. “ECOLOGICAL DEMOCRACY AND THE DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP.” In Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice, edited by NIK JANOS and CORINA MCKENDRY, 222–38. University of Washington Press, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv21r3pk6.15.

Janos, Nik. “Urbanising Territory: The Contradictions of Eco-Cityism at the Industrial Margins, Duwamish River, Seattle.” Urban Studies 57, no. 11 (2020): 2282–99. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26959578.

Straightening of Duwamish River begins on October 14, 1913., HistoryLink. https://historylink.org/File/2986

Simenstad, Charles, Curtis Tanner, Caren Crandell, Jacques White, and Jeffery Cordell. “Challenges of Habitat Restoration in a Heavily Urbanized Estuary: Evaluating the Investment.” Journal of Coastal Research, 2005, 6–23. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25736612.

Dierwechter, Yonn. “BACKGROUND: SEATTLE'S GREEN DEVELOPMENT STORY.” In Climate Change and the Future of Seattle, 15–34. Anthem Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv22d4tcq.6.

Williams, David B. “Filling in the Duwamish River Tideflats.” In Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography, 63–107. University of Washington Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnk3t.10.

Kramer, Chin & Mayo, Inc. “West Seattle Freeway Bridge Replacement: Landscape Design Development.” Landscape Architecture 72, no. 5 (1982): 104–104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44669866.

Morley, Sarah A., Jason D. Toft, and Karrie M. Hanson. “Ecological Effects of Shoreline Armoring on Intertidal Habitats of a Puget Sound Urban Estuary.” Estuaries and Coasts 35, no. 3 (2012): 774–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41486668

News coverage

Elizabeth Mai, International Examiner, Program teaches youth about Seattle's Duwamish River and its toxic seafood https://iexaminer.org/program-teaches-youth-about-seattles-duwamish-river-and-its-toxic-seafood/

Lulu Ramadan, Seattle Times, The secret dispute behind cleaning Seattle's only river https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/toxic-legacy-of-duwamish-river-could-cost-boeing-taxpayers-1-billion/

Boeing discharge to Duwamish River violates PCB standards https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/boeing-discharge-to-duwamish-violates-pcb-standards/

Candace Cheung, Courthouse News Service, https://www.courthousenews.com/seattle-can-pursue-claim-against-monsanto-for-river-contamination-judge-rules/

Isabella Breda, Seattle Times EPA pitches $290 million cleanup for Duwamish Superfund site https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/epa-pitches-290-million-cleanup-for-duwamish-superfund-site/

Bridge information

South Park (14th Avenue S) Bridge spanning the Duwamish Waterway opens to traffic on March 21, 1931, HistoryLink https://www.historylink.org/File/9470

South Park Bridge, Duwamish Waterway, King County, 1931-2010, HistoryLink https://www.historylink.org/File/10937

Misc sources

Accessing Nature in One of Seattle's Most Industrial Neighborhoods https://www.washingtonnature.org/fieldnotes/nature-nearby/accessing-nature-duwamish-valley (information about parks) All Over the Map: Kellogg Island is a 19th-century time capsule https://mynorthwest.com/1410710/kellogg-island-19th-century-time-capsule/ (Information about Kellogg Island)

Harbor Island, at the time the world's largest artificial island, is completed in 1909. https://www.historylink.org/File/3631

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