Watershed Park | |
---|---|
Type | Municipal |
Location | Olympia, Washington |
Coordinates | 47°01′41″N122°53′10″W / 47.028°N 122.886°W Coordinates: 47°01′41″N122°53′10″W / 47.028°N 122.886°W |
Area | 153.03 acres (0.6193 km2) |
Created | 1956 |
Status | Open all year |
Website | http://olympiawa.gov/city-services/parks/parks-and-trails/watershed-park.aspx |
Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails.
The park takes its name from the watershed of Moxlie Creek. [1] Water wells for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential Western Washington businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917. [2] After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a Washington Supreme Court battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently. [3] Local environmental activist Margaret McKenny is recognized as the impetus for establishing the park as a protected place.
The Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a temperate rain forest. Skunk cabbage and salmon berries grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed by groundwater and surface water runoff. Chinook, coho salmon and coastal cutthroat trout live in the creek. There are big leaf maple, douglas fir, red alder and incense cedar throughout the park, along with huckleberry, Oregon grape, licorice and sword ferns, and devil's club. The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well. [4]
A future expansion of the paved Karen Fraser Woodland Trail will extend that rail to run along the northwestern edge of the park to creat a connection with the Tumwater Falls park. This expansion will connect with Watershed's hiking trails. [5]
The park has suffered from gypsy moth infestations. [6]
The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about 215 miles (346 km) in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Beginning near Crater Lake, which occupies the caldera left by the explosive volcanic eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama, the river flows through the geologically young High Cascades and the older Western Cascades, another volcanic province. Further west, the river passes through multiple exotic terranes of the more ancient Klamath Mountains. In the Kalmiopsis Wilderness section of the Rogue basin are some of the world's best examples of rocks that form the Earth's mantle. Near the mouth of the river, the only dinosaur fragments ever discovered in Oregon were found in the Otter Point Formation, along the coast of Curry County.
The Cedar River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About 45 miles (72 km) long, it originates in the Cascade Range and flows generally west and northwest, emptying into the southern end of Lake Washington. Its upper watershed is a protected area called the Cedar River Watershed, which provides drinking water for the greater Seattle area.
The Sammamish River flows through north King County, Washington for about 14 miles (23 km), draining Lake Sammamish into Lake Washington. Along its course, the Sammamish River flows through Redmond, Woodinville, Bothell, and Kenmore.
The Queets River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located on the Olympic Peninsula, mostly within the Olympic National Park and empties into the Pacific Ocean.
The Hoh River is a river of the Pacific Northwest, located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. About 56 miles (90 km) long, the Hoh River originates at the Hoh Glacier on Mount Olympus and flows west through the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, then through the foothills in a broad valley, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at the Hoh Indian Reservation. The final portion of the Hoh River's course marks the boundary between the coastal segment of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, the Hoh Indian Reservation.
The Skagit River is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 hectares) of the Cascade Range along the northern end of Puget Sound and flows into the sound.
Sligo Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River in Maryland. The creek is approximately 9.1 miles (14.6 km) long, with a drainage area of about 11.6 square miles (30 km2).
The Bull Run River is a 21.9-mile (35.2 km) tributary of the Sandy River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the lower end of Bull Run Lake in the Cascade Range, it flows generally west through the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit (BRWMU), a restricted area meant to protect the river and its tributaries from contamination. The river, impounded by two artificial storage reservoirs as well as the lake, is the primary source of drinking water for the city of Portland, Oregon.
Issaquah Creek is a small stream flowing through the city of Issaquah and nearby communities, in the U.S. state of Washington. Its headwaters are on the slopes of Cougar, Squak, Tiger, and Taylor mountains in the Issaquah Alps. Tributaries of Issaquah Creek include Holder Creek, Carey Creek, Fifteen-mile Creek, McDonald Creek, East Fork Issaquah Creek, and North Fork Issaquah Creek. The creek empties into the south end of Lake Sammamish. The lake's outlet is the Sammamish River, which in turn empties into Lake Washington and ultimately Puget Sound.
Tryon Creek is a 4.85-mile (7.81 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, its watershed covers about 6.5 square miles (16.8 km2) in Multnomah and Clackamas counties. The stream flows southeast from the Tualatin Mountains through the Multnomah Village neighborhood of Portland and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area to the Willamette in the city of Lake Oswego. Parks and open spaces cover about 21 percent of the watershed, while single-family homes dominate most of the remainder. The largest of the parks is the state natural area, which straddles the border between the two cities and counties.
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Fanno Creek is a 15-mile (24 km) tributary of the Tualatin River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, its watershed covers about 32 square miles (83 km2) in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, including about 7 square miles (18 km2) within the Portland city limits.
Boeing Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Washington, located in the city of Shoreline, just north of Seattle. It is about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long and empties into Puget Sound. The creek is heavily modified along its course, and in many places has been diverted into culverts. The watershed of Boeing Creek is about 11.2 square miles (29 km2) in size, with two main tributaries aside from the mainstem. The creek takes its name from William Boeing, who built a mansion along the creek in 1913. Despite the river modifications and stormwater pollution, the creek supports a variety of riparian habitats, native animals and fishes.
Salmon Creek is a 26-mile (42 km) tributary of Lake River in Clark County in the U.S. state of Washington. Beginning from its forested headwaters on Elkhorn Mountain, Salmon Creek passes through rural, agricultural, residential, and urban areas before flowing into the river just north of Vancouver Lake. Lake River is a tributary of the Columbia River.
Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve is a state-protected Natural Area near US Highway 101 on Oyster Bay, Puget Sound, in southwest Washington state, United States. The preserve is on the border of Thurston County and Mason County and contains 203 acres (82 ha) of intertidal salt marsh and upland forest.
Burnt Bridge Creek is a 13-mile (21 km) stream flowing for most of its length within the city of Vancouver in the U.S. state of Washington. It begins as drainage from field ditches near the unincorporated community of Orchards, east of the city. The creek flows generally west to Vancouver Lake. The lake drains to Lake River, which empties into the Columbia River about 11 miles (18 km) downstream of the city.
The Satsop Hills are foothills of the Olympic Mountains in Mason County, Washington north of Matlock, Washington, between Wynoochee Lake to the west and Lake Cushman to the east.
Moxlie Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is an Olympian creek originating from artesian springs in Watershed Park. It flows north into the East Bay of Budd Inlet. The creek is piped underground between East Bay and the headwaters, more than one third of its 1.8 mile length. For over 50 years the park groundwater was used to supply the city's drinking water, and waterworks remnants can be seen in the area.
Mud Bay Logging Company was a 20th-century logging company based in Olympia, Washington. The company was established in 1899 as Western Washington Logging Company by Mark Draham, who had previously established Mason County Logging Company. The name changed to Mud Bay Logging Company in 1910. The company was disestablished in 1941.
The Metro Vancouver watersheds, also known as the Greater Vancouver watersheds, supply potable water to approximately 2.7 million residents in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. They provide tap water to a land area covering more than 2,600 km², including Vancouver, Langley and Richmond. Metro Vancouver serves a total of 21 member municipalities, one electoral district, and one treaty First Nation. From west to east, the watersheds are the Capilano, the Seymour, and the Coquitlam. They are located in the North Shore Mountains and Coquitlam Mountain, respectively. Each watershed possesses a reservoir for water storage purposes, under the control of Metro Vancouver. The reservoirs are supplied by about 3.5 metres of rain and 4.5 metres of snowpack annually. Two additional off-catchment areas under control of Metro Vancouver contribute to the water supply. The watersheds have a long history of controversies surrounding logging, highway development, and salmon run conservation.