Elwha River

The Elwha River is a 45-mile (72 km) river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Range of Olympic National Park, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river is in Olympic National Park. In 2012, a major river dam was removed. Another dam removal is in progress.

The river is one of the few in the Pacific Northwest with all five species of Pacific salmon. It has four anadromous trout species. Before the dams, 400,000 adult salmon returned yearly to spawn in 70 miles (110 km) of river habitat. Today, less than 4,000 salmon return each year in only 4.9 miles (7.9 km) of habitat below the first dam.

The anadromous river fish include Chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, bull trout, and Dolly Varden char.

The name "Elwha" may be a corruption of the Quileute "e ilth quath" (pronounced āīlth'q-uȧtt), a place name with no English translation. Another theory is that it is derived from the Klallam word for elk, "elkwah". The most plausible theory is that the name is simply that of the Klallam village once on the river banks. The first documented use of the name Elwha River dates to Henry Kellett's 1846 map.