Indian Creek is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Elwha River

Elwha River

The Elwha River is a -long river located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Range of Olympic National Park it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river is contained within Olympic National Park...

 located in Washington in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Indian Creek flows from Lake Sutherland

Lake Sutherland

Lake Sutherland is located on the Olympic Peninsula about west of Port Angeles, Washington. The lake is located just to the east of Lake Crescent. Lake Sutherland drains into Indian Creek, which is a tributary of the Elwha River....

 into Lake Aldwell

Lake Aldwell

Lake Aldwell is a reservoir located about from the mouth of the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington. The reservoir was created in 1913 behind the Elwha Dam...

. Historically, Indian Creek supported runs of several anadromous 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...

 and trout species, including all five species of Pacific Salmon. However, with construction of the Elwha Dam

Elwha Dam

The Elwha Dam is a 108-ft high dam located in the United States, in the state of Washington, on the Elwha River approximately upstream from the mouth of the river on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The dam was built under the direction of Thomas Aldwell...

 in 1913, fish were blocked from accessing 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...

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Today, Indian Creek sustains populations of kokanee sockeye salmon

Sockeye salmon

Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...

, which spawn in Lake Sutherland and migrate to Lake Aldwell to use as their ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

. It also contains landlocked rainbow trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, coastal cutthroat trout

Coastal cutthroat trout

The coastal cutthroat trout also known as the sea run cutthroat, or harvest trout are a subspecies of cutthroat trout with an anadromous life history....

, and introduced eastern brook trout

Brook trout

The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...

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It is expected, with the removal of the Elwha Dam in 2012, that these native salmonids

Salmonidae

Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...

will return to their anadromous lifestyle.