Black River (Duwamish River)

The Black River was a river in King County in the U.S. state of Washington. It drained Lake Washington until 1916 when the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal lowered the lake, causing the Black River to dry up. It still exists as a short dammed stream about 4000 feet (1200 m) long, [gnis|1503409|Black River lists 2 miles, but that wrongly includes some of Springbrook Creek, as is clear from any of the maps at [http://rentonnet.org/internetapps/maps Renton LandInfo] , including [http://rentonweb.org/internet/maps/cip.pdf Capital Improvement Projects] which names both the Black River Forbay behind the dam and Springbrook Creek flowing into it] draining some wetlands into the Duwamish River between Tukwila and Renton, just northeast of the I-5 and I-405 interchange. [ [http://www.topozone.com Topozone] , Black River, USGS Renton (WA) Topo Map]

Before the 20th century, Lake Washington emptied from its south end into the Black River, which was joined by the Cedar River before meeting the White River (now the Green River). The confluence of the Black and White rivers created the Duwamish River, which emptied into Elliott Bay in Puget Sound. Thus the water of rivers emptying into Lake Washington, such as the Sammamish River, once flowed through the Black and Duwamish rivers. Today Lake Washington's water empties into Puget Sound via the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

In 1911, the Cedar River flooded Renton. In 1912, the Cedar was diverted from the Black River into Lake Washington to avoid future floods. Its water still flowed through the Black after passing through Lake Washington. In 1916, with the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal north of Seattle, the lake's level dropped nearly nine feet and the Black River dried up.cite web | title=Black River disappears in July 1916|url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=2624| accessdate=2007-08-17 ] Today, part of its bed forms the Black River Riparian Forest and Wetland.

The Duwamish people lived along the Black River for many centuries. Duwamish settlements remained along the river until it dried up in 1916. [ [http://www.heronsforever.org/ Herons Forever] , History of the Black River] Several indigenous villages were located near the confluence of the Black and Duwamish rivers. The area was called "Inside Place" (Lushootseed: dxWduW, from which comes the word "Duwamish"), referring to its location inland from Puget Sound. Long used as a place of refuge, the area became home to many natives displaced by the growing city of Seattle, until the Black River dried up. [cite book |last= Thrush |first= Coll |title= Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place |year= 2007 |publisher= University of Washington Press |isbn= 0-295-98700-6 |pages= p. 244]

ee also

* Fort Dent
* List of rivers in Washington

References