Dosewallips River
Encyclopedia
The Dosewallips River is a river
situated on the Olympic Peninsula
in the U.S. state
of Washington. It rises near Mount Anderson
in the Olympic Mountains
within Olympic National Park
and drains to Hood Canal
and thence to the Pacific Ocean
.
The river originates in two forks, which join about five miles from the headwaters. The National Park Service
maintains trails and campsites along both forks, including one at the fork itself. The road leading to the trailhead was washed out in January 2002, and the ranger station near the trailhead has been abandoned.
The entire estuary
of the Dosewallips is within Dosewallips State Park
and ongoing restoration efforts led by Wild Fish Conservancy, the Port Gamble S'Kalallam
Tribe, and the Hood Canal Coordinating Council are intended to improve salmon
habitat through the reconnection of the river to its historical floodplain
.
Indian myth about a man named Dos-wail-opsh who was turned into a mountain at the river's source. There are also several Klallam
legends about the "Great Changer", Doquebatl, who transformed a mythical Klallam chief into a mountain at the headwaters of the Dosewallips River. In another story Doquebatl changed a woman into Mount Rainier
and her son into Little Tahoma
.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
situated on the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Washington. It rises near Mount Anderson
Mount Anderson (Washington)
Mount Anderson is a high peak in the Olympic Mountains of Washington state. Rising in the center of Olympic National Park, it the second highest peak on the Anderson Massif. Anderson Glacier is located in a cirque on the mountain's southern flank while Eel Glacier is in another cirque, northwest...
in the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
within Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side. U.S...
and drains to Hood Canal
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...
and thence to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The river originates in two forks, which join about five miles from the headwaters. The National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
maintains trails and campsites along both forks, including one at the fork itself. The road leading to the trailhead was washed out in January 2002, and the ranger station near the trailhead has been abandoned.
The entire estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the Dosewallips is within Dosewallips State Park
Dosewallips State Park
Dosewallips State Park in Jefferson County, Washington is one of the Washington State Parks. It consists of with of saltwater shoreline on Hood Canal and of freshwater shoreline on each side of the Dosewallips River...
and ongoing restoration efforts led by Wild Fish Conservancy, the Port Gamble S'Kalallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
Tribe, and the Hood Canal Coordinating Council are intended to improve salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
habitat through the reconnection of the river to its historical floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
.
Name
The name Dosewallips comes from a TwanaSkokomish (tribe)
The Skokomish are one of nine tribes of the Twana, a Native American people of western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives along Hood Canal, a fjord-like inlet on the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula and the Puget Sound basin...
Indian myth about a man named Dos-wail-opsh who was turned into a mountain at the river's source. There are also several Klallam
Klallam
Klallam refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam culture is classified ethnographically and linguistically in the Coast Salish subgroup...
legends about the "Great Changer", Doquebatl, who transformed a mythical Klallam chief into a mountain at the headwaters of the Dosewallips River. In another story Doquebatl changed a woman into Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
and her son into Little Tahoma
Little Tahoma
Little Tahoma Peak, also called Little Tahoma, is a satellite peak of Mount Rainier in Pierce County, Washington and in Mount Rainier National Park. It is quite noticeable from Seattle over away....
.