Historic Range:
Although chum salmon (or dog salmon) are great swimmers, they are the poorest jumpers of all the Elwha River salmon. They most likely swam as far as Rica Canyon at river mile 16, though the historical upstream distribution is unknown. The rapids here were likely impassable to both chum and pink salmon.
Diagram:
— The red line on the chart represents the known range of chum salmon before the dams.
-- The dotted red line represents theoretical range of chum salmon. Though there is no historical evidence that they swam past mile 16, it is feasible that they had the ability to go this far at certain times when river conditions permitted easier passage.
