The Elwha River and Indian Fisheries

Lane & Lane Associates

The Indian fisheries which are the focus of this report were located in the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula of northwestern Washington. The river basin is located about 60 miles northwest of Seattle. The Elwha River rises in the northern slopes of the Olympic Range near Mount Olympus and flows north to empty into Freshwater Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca several miles west of the town of Port Angeles. A portion of the lower river flows through the Lower Elwha Indian Reservation. The Elwha River is the largest river draining the north Olympic Peninsula into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and it is reputed to have been one of the major salmon streams of the entire state. The main tributaries are Indian Creek whichdrains Lake Sutherland and enters the upper end of Lake Aldwell at about river mile 7.5 and Little River which joins the Elwha at about river mile 7.8. Numerous smaller tributaries join the river upstream. Usual and accustomed fisheries of the Clallam Indians were located along the Elwha system. The Indians harvested chinook, coho, pink, chum and steelhead.