Dosewallips River

Dosewallips River
Mount Constance (7,756 ft) above the Dosewallips River in Dosewallips State Park
Country United States
State Washington
County Jefferson
Source Olympic Mountains
 - coordinates 47°47′1″N 123°20′18″W / 47.78361°N 123.33833°W [1]
Mouth Hood Canal
 - coordinates 47°41′6″N 122°53′47″W / 47.68500°N 122.89639°WCoordinates: 47°41′6″N 122°53′47″W / 47.68500°N 122.89639°W [1]
Location of the mouth of the Dosewallips River in Washington
Tidal shoreline near the estuary of the Dosewallips River, Dosewallips State Park

The Dosewallips River pronunciation: /doʊsɪˈwɑːləps/ ("doh-si-wall'-ips"[2]) is a river situated on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises near Mount Anderson in the Olympic Mountains within Olympic National Park and drains to Hood Canal and thence to the Pacific Ocean.

The river originates in two forks, which join about five miles from the headwaters. The National Park Service maintains trails and campsites along both forks, including one at the fork itself. The road leading to the trailhead was washed out in January 2002,[3][4] and the ranger station near the trailhead has been abandoned.

The entire estuary of the Dosewallips is within Dosewallips State Park and ongoing restoration efforts led by Wild Fish Conservancy, the Port Gamble S'Kalallam Tribe, and the Hood Canal Coordinating Council are intended to improve salmon habitat through the reconnection of the river to its historical floodplain.

Name

The name Dosewallips comes from a Twana Indian myth about a man named Dos-wail-opsh who was turned into a mountain at the river's source.[5] There are also several Klallam legends about the "Great Changer", Doquebatl, who transformed a mythical Klallam chief into a mountain at the headwaters of the Dosewallips River. In another story Doquebatl changed a woman into Mount Rainier and her son into Little Tahoma.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dosewallips River
  2. ↑ Goode, J. Paul; Veregin Howard, Ph.D. (June 2006). Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas (21 edition ed.). Rand McNally & Company. p. 288. ISBN 0-528-85339-2. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  3. ↑ Washington Trails Association
  4. ↑ Final Environmental Impact Statement: Dosewallips Road Washout Project, Hood Canal Ranger District, Olympic National Forest, Olympic National Park, Jefferson County, Washington United States Forest Service
  5. ↑ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.
  6. ↑ Parratt, Smitty (1984). Gods & goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park. CP Publications. p. 38. ISBN 0-914195-00-X.

External links