See Computer animation showing changes at the mouth of the Elwha River from 2011 through 2016. Brown-shaded areas are elevations above low tide; blue shades indicate seafloor depths below low tide. Watch the animation loop to see the mouth of the Elwha River grow and change as millions of tons of sediment moved downstream from Olympic National Park to the Pacific Ocean. (Public domain.)
Excerpts;
Starting in 2011, the National Park Service removed two obsolete dams from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington. It was the world’s largest dam-removal project.
Over the next five years, water carrying newly freed rocks, sand, silt and old tree trunks reshaped more than 13 miles of river and built a larger delta into the Pacific Ocean…
Read Full Article; USGS (09-05-2018)
Elwha, The Grand Experiment (11-12-2012)
On The Elwha, A New Life When The Dam Breaks
Nobody figured the largest dam removal project ever attempted in the U.S. was going to be easy, or fast.The nation’s largest and most ambitious dam removal will begin this month, when workers start demolishing two antique dams on Washington state’s Elwha River…
“River Reborn: Elwha Flows Wild and Free Once Again,” NBC News
A construction crew on Tuesday detonated a large charge of dynamite, destroying the last remaining portion of Glines Canyon Dam and hastening the restoration of the Elwha River in the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest.
Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History Scientifically Characterized: A USGS Lecture on Largest U.S. Dam Removal; USGS (02-25-2015)
Scientists worked together to characterize the effects of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history occurring on the Elwha River of Washington State. New findings suggest that dam removal can change landscape features of river and coasts, which have ecological implications downstream of former dam sites…
Tracking Sediments’ Fate In Largest-Ever Dam Removal, University Of Washington (03-08-2013)
Scientists tracking the aftermath of the largest dam removal in U.S. history say the dismantling of a dam in northwestern Washington state has unleashed about 34 million cubic yards of sediment and debris that built up for more than a century…
Dams – Cutting off our Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs (12-19-2014)
1000 Dams Down and Counting: Dam Removal Study Reveals River Resiliency; USGS (05-02-2015)
