Millions of years ago before Washington became a state before humans walked the earth before wooly mammoths roamed powerful forces transformed rocks under the sea into mountains that touched the sky Rocky craggy rough and steep Ice fields blanketed mountains and lowlands and fed smaller glaciers that marched slowly forward carving the narrow canyons and broad valleys where the Elwha River would soon flow
HEADWATERS where a river starts MOUTH the river's end usually where it meets the ocean or a lake TRIBUTARIES rivers that feed into another river CHANNEL the shape of the river's path RIVERBANKS the land on either side of the river
Year after year the mighty Elwha churned with salmon thrashing against the current leaping up waterfalls The rushing river called them home from the sea Bears otters and eagles caught some of them The rest laid eggs in shallow riffles before dying Their bodies enriched the soil that grew the forest that fed the mice the deer and the elk In spring millions of salmon eggs hatched The young fish preyed on tiny insects in the river and grew and grew until the time came to swim for the sea On their journey some became meals for other fish and birds The river fed the salmon and the salmon fed the river
A SAFE PLACE FOR YOUNG SALMON Alevins newborns usually hatch in spring and live close to their redd underwater gravel nest for a few months Alevins become fry juveniles and stay in the river for up to a year When fry swim for the sea they become silvery smolts with scales They feed at the mouth of the river and adjust to saltwater life Males and females die soon after spawning Males compete to fertilize eggs The female covers the eggs with small rocks Adult females swim upstream to find good redd sites They turn on their sides to dig with their tails Salmon spend up to seven years in the ocean They follow scents chemical clues and even the sun to return to their home river to spawn lay and fertilize eggs
