Elwha River, Sans Dam by auntietk
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
This is what it looks like now. The Elwha Dam is gone.
To see what the dam looked like, and to read about the environmental reasons for its removal, read Taking Down the Dams
Even cooler is watching the slide shows from the webcams: Elwha River Restoration Project
On the NPS webcam site:
If you click on the webcam picture, you'll only see that one shot. Click on Java and read the instructions (clicking the right arrow key to run the slide show), and you'll see the whole thing run through. The cameras were set up a couple of weeks in advance of anything dramatic happening, so be patient. It's worth the wait. Check out the two on the left ... the ones labeled Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam (the other ones aren't very exciting, I'll warn you!) If your connection is kind of slow, let it all load through while you do something else, and then come back and hit the right arrow again, and it will run through like a movie.
The Elwha Dam series starts with them beginning to drain the lake, so watch the shoreline to see progress in the beginning.
The Glines Canyon Dam removal is fascinating as well, if you've got the time and the interest in seeing it.
This is some pretty exciting stuff in these parts! It was great to see it in person ... history in the making. :)

Comments (23)
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Superb capture Tara. God Bless.
Great image!!
Very great photo!!! Have a nice week!
Interesting. So the removal of the dam benefits salmon and bears and wolves and eagles and otters and orcas? What about benefits for humans? And does the scrapping of the production of the generated power make the US even more dependent on foreign energy?
Oo! Exciting! At least some folk care about the environment. I will return to see the webcam thing later.
Excellent capture Tara and it is so good to know that they correct the mistakes for the sake of the nature. :)
Great shot Tara, good to see nature winning for once.
Cool after-event shot
Wonderful capture Tara! Great slideshow!
that's a DAM good photo. LOL
Great pic woulda been even better if the construction machines weren't there but I can understand why they were Hugs Susan~
Awesome work on this beautiful scene
Excellent shot of the in-progress; it will be nice to see it again once nature has got it back under control!
Wonderful shot Tara, it should all work out in the end :}
Did Margaret have anything to do with this restoration project (before her own transformation)? Great shot, my friend.
What an absolutely beautiful view this is awesome pic.
Hope others will learn from this lesson too. Nice shot and info. Aloha
Great shot!
I worked in the power generating industry for 25 years. Dams..ie water generated power is just a drop in the bucket compared to coal fired facilities..in my state one large damed river doesn't even produce 1% of what just one unit in a major coal burning plant does.And most plants have 4 to 6 units. Dams were in most cases spurred on by politicians and land grabbers finding out where the future shoreline would be if dammed and buying it up for profits as lakefront properties. Dams for the most part but not all were just a money grabbing politic waste of resouces to make a few rich and rob us of our natural heritage.
Great shot, Tara! Good to see some of these areas being returned to nature!
We'll have to come back in 20-30 years to see the end result...all grown up again. No, wait...better make it 10 years. I'm not sure how mobile I'll be in 20-30 years:) Excellent presentation of all the goings-on.
Always fascinating to see that.