The North Wind Weir on the Duwamish River in Seattle is where the river ends it's channelized section and moves into it's un-straightened shoreline.
The weir is a narrow section of the river where at low tide a rock shelf is exposed and further narrows the river channel and a class 1-2 river rapid.
It was once a fishing area for the Duwamish people. Due to the rapid the saltwater mostly ends at the weir making it a interesting mix of salt and freshwater thus good for salmon fishing. As a paddler I've been interested in it as it's Seattle's only whitewater rapid.
It's located at 27th avenue south where the Green River Trail crosses the river.
Read about recent salmon conservation efforts at the weir.
The weir has a story that follows its history - (From Wikipedia):
According to Salish tradition, North Wind stretched a weir of ice across the Duwamish River at this site; no fish could pass, starving the people up the valley, the people of the Chinook Wind who was married to North Wind's daughter Mountain Beaver Woman. The mother of Mountain Beaver woman survived the starvation, but retreated to the mountain. Mountain Beaver Woman's son, the child Storm Wind, also survived.[2]
The people of the North Wind warned Storm Wind to stay away from the mountain, trying to keep from him the knowledge of what had happened to his people, but eventually he defied them and found his grandmother living in misery. He heard her story and helped her out of her misery; she, in return, aided him with a flood that shattered the weir and turned it to stone. Storm Wind and his grandmother defeated North Wind, who only occasionally and briefly torments the area with snow and ice. (From Wikipedia - Alan Stein (2000-08-15), "Arthur Ballard records and translates the legend of origin of the North Wind Weir on the Duwamish River beginning in 1916", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink, retrieved 2016-10-24)
Read the full story of the North Wind Weir from History Link
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| The weir is in the middle left |
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| 1936 aerial view (weir middle left) |
