The Saltese Flats is a flat located in Spokane County, just outside Greenacres Washington, United States. The flats are occupied by the residual wetlands of the now-drained Saltese Lake. The term Saltese Flats is generally used to refer to both the flat and the occupying wetlands. The wetlands—which are overlooked by the Saltese Uplands—are primarily fed by Quinnamose and Saltese Creeks, and are also emptied by the latter.
The wetlands were originally drained for farming, but the Spokane County Environmental Services are actively trying to restore them. The primary goal is to restore the wetlands, and increase late summer water flow into the Spokane River [1] (via the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer).
The area known as the Saltese Flats, was once a Lake (even larger than the nearby Liberty Lake), but was drained by Peter Morrison in the 1890s so he could grow Timothy hay on the dry lakebed. Starting in 1894, Morrison used hired laborers and horses to dig 10 miles (16 km) of drainage canals diverting water into Saltese Creek. Within weeks of the canals being finished, the lake had completely drained. The creek, which originally ended at the lake, now carries water an additional 2.5 miles (4.0 km) before terminating at what is now known as Shelley Lake. [2] The Lake—originally spelled "Seltice" Lake—was named after Chief Andrew Seltice of the Coeur d'Alene tribe, who lived in a home on the west side of the lake. [3]
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon in the United States. The river is about 83 miles (134 km) long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley. There are approximately 500,000 people residing on 15 percent of the land in the river's watershed.
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the New Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city of Hackensack, is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay.
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about 73 miles (117 km) long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over 210 miles (340 km). The main stem Feather River begins in Lake Oroville, where its four long tributary forks join—the South Fork, Middle Fork, North Fork, and West Branch Feather Rivers. These and other tributaries drain part of the northern Sierra Nevada, and the extreme southern Cascades, as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley. The total drainage basin is about 6,200 square miles (16,000 km2), with approximately 3,604 square miles (9,330 km2) above Lake Oroville.
The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately 67 miles (108 km) long. It drains rural areas on the northern edge of the Everglades, east of Fort Myers. An important link in the Okeechobee Waterway, a manmade inland waterway system of southern Florida, the river forms a tidal estuary along most of its course and has become the subject of efforts to restore and preserve the Everglades.
The Black River is a tributary of the Duwamish River in King County in the U.S. state of Washington. It drained Lake Washington until 1916, when the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the lake, causing part of the Black River to dry up. It still exists as a dammed stream about 2 miles (3.2 km) long.
Eighteen Mile Creek, or Eighteenmile Creek, is a tributary of Lake Ontario located entirely in Niagara County, New York in the United States. The name of "Eighteen Mile" Creek refers not to the length of the creek, but to its distance from the Niagara River to the west.
The Wood River is a short river in the southern region of the U.S. state of Oregon, and part of the Klamath Basin drainage. It flows 18 miles (29 km) through the Fremont-Winema National Forests, Bureau of Land Management land, and private property in southern Oregon. Its watershed consists of 220 square miles (570 km2) of conifer forest, rural pasture land, and marsh. The river provides habitat for many species of wildlife including an adfluvial (migratory) and resident populations of native Great Basin redband trout.
Mica Peak is the name of two separate mountain summits in the United States located approximately 5.49 miles (9 km) apart; one in Spokane County, Washington and the other in Kootenai County, Idaho. The two peaks are located along the same ridge, which separates the Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie from the Palouse. The mountains have an elevation difference of only 31 ft (9.4 m) and are the southernmost peaks of the Selkirk Mountains.
Cheyenne Bottoms is a wetland in the central Great Plains of North America. Occupying approximately 41,000 acres in central Kansas, it is the largest wetland in the interior United States. The Bottoms is a critical stopping point on the Central Flyway for millions of birds which migrate through the region annually.
Fisheating Creek is a stream that flows into Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It is the only remaining free-flowing water course feeding into the lake, and the second-largest natural source for the lake. Most of the land surrounding the stream is either publicly owned or under conservation easements restricting development. The lower part of the stream remains in a largely natural state, and efforts are underway to restore the upper part of the stream to a more natural state.
Salt Creek is a 24.0-mile-long (38.6 km) tributary of the East Arm Little Calumet River that begins south of Valparaiso in Porter County, Indiana and flows north until it joins the East Arm Little Calumet River just before it exits to Lake Michigan via the Port of Indiana-Burns Waterway.
The San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is a 300-acre constructed wetland in Irvine, California, in the flood plain of San Diego Creek just above its outlet into the Upper Newport Bay.
Shelley Lake is a small lake located entirely in the city of Spokane Valley, in the U.S. state of Washington. The lake is surrounded on three sides by the 248 lot gated community of Shelley Lake Estates. The lake is kept full by Saltese Creek, which is supplied by drainage canals from the Saltese Flats. Although an open lake, there are no above-ground outflows.
The Saltese Uplands Conservation Area is a 522 acre conservation area in Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington. The conservation area covers the Saltese Uplands, which are situated on the western slope of the Holiday Hills, immediately to the east of the adjacent Saltese Flats. The area is open to the public and contains 7 miles (11 km) of trails.
Saltese Creek is an approximately 9 mi (14 km) long stream in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Originally only 3.5 miles (5.6 km), the lower 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the stream, along with around 10 mi (16 km) of drainage canals were dug to drain Saltese Lake. The stream now functions as one of two primary inflows, as well as the primary outflow for the Saltese Flats. The stream has its headwaters near the summit of Mica Peak and terminates at Shelley Lake, which was created as a result of draining Saltese Lake.
Saltese or Seltice can refer to:
Rodman Slough is a wetland that drains into Clear Lake in Lake County, California. It provides an important habitat for fish, amphibians, birds and other wildlife. It is fed by Scotts Creek and Middle Creek, which contribute about 70% of the sediment and nutrients that cause algae problems in Clear Lake. The slough is the remnant of a much larger area of wetlands and open water that extended from Tule Lake to the northeast through a wide area of land north and east of the present slough that was drained for farmland. Since 1978 there have been proposals to restore large parts of the former wetlands, and much of the funding has been approved, but progress has been slow.
Middle Creek is a creek that drains through Rodman Slough into Clear Lake in Lake County, California. It supplies 21% of the streamflow to Clear Lake. The watershed vegetation has been drastically modified by European settlers through sheep and cattle grazing, logging and farming in the valley floors. The creek once flowed through extensive wetlands at its mouth, but these were mainly drained to create farmland, apart from Rodman Slough on the west side. There are now projects to restore the drained land to its original condition.
Bixby Slough was an ancient wetland in Los Angeles County, California.