Puyallup River
The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its tributaries drain an area of about in Pierce County and southern King County. The lower, northwestern half of the river's watershed is a complex amalgam of glacial and tectonic features dating back to the Pleistocene, as well as more recent (Holocene) changes caused by a series of lahars which flowed down from Mount Rainier between 5,600 and 800 years Before Present. The valley's 150,000 residents are at risk from future lahars. For this reason, the United States Geological Survey has installed a lahar warning system. Course The upper watershed of the Puyallup River flows off of Mount Rainier through the South Cascade Range of Washington towards the lowlands surrounding Puget Sound. The Puyallup River begins from two forks, the North ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Electron Diversion Dam
The Electron Hydroelectric Project, originally known as the Puyallup Project, is a hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plant operated by Electron Hydro LLC on the Puyallup River in Pierce County, Washington. It generates of electricity and is operated and maintained by approximately 20 full-time employees. Location It is located along the Puyallup River near Kapowsin, Pierce County, approximately southeast of Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma and southeast of Seattle in the western foothills of Mount Rainier. Technology The project, which was completed in 1904, draws water from the Puyallup River behind the Electron Diversion Dam, then funnels it to the Electron power plant via a span of wooden flume running along the side hills of the winding river valley while the river runs down a steep canyon. The wooden flume has a cross section of and can supply up to of water per second to the turbines of the Electron powerhouse. Original construction took approximately 14 months to c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fife, Washington
Fife is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States and a suburb of Tacoma. The population was 10,999 at the 2020 census. Fife is contained within the Puyallup Indian Reservation and bisected by Interstate 5. It is east of Tacoma and the Port of Tacoma. History The lower Puyallup basin is the ancestral home of the Puyallup people, who were relocated after the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854. The treaty ceded Puyallup lands and created the Puyallup Indian Reservation, which was expanded to include modern-day Fife. The land on which the city sits was lost after the signing of the General Allotment Act in 1887 and other land transfers that were later resolved in a 1990 claims settlement. The first white settlers arrived in the late 1890s. Fife may have been named for William J. Fife, a prominent Tacoma lawyer, Yukon prospector, once head of the Washington National Guard, and a lieutenant colonel in the field during the Philippine–American War. There is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land“Glacier, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025. and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water. On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as "continental glaciers") in the polar regions, but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on ever ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energy, renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of Low-carbon power, low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to transport water; flumes use flowing water to transport materials. Flumes route water from a diversion dam or weir to a desired materiel collection location. Flumes are usually made up of wood, metal or concrete. Many flumes took the form of wooden troughs elevated on trestles, often following the natural contours of the land. Originating as a part of a mill race, they were later used in the transportation of logs in the logging industry, known as a log flume. They were also extensively used in hydraulic mining and working placer deposits for gold, tin and other heavy minerals. Etymology The term ''flume'' comes from the Old French word ''flum'', from the Latin ''flumen'', meaning a river. It was formerly used for a stream, and particul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Electron, Washington
Electron is an unincorporated community in Pierce County in the state of Washington, US. Electron sits along the Puyallup River just northeast of Lake Kapowsin and is the site of the Electron Hydroelectric Project, a power plant operated by Puget Power. Above the plant, 10.1 miles upriver, is the Electron Diversionary Dam, which runs water to the power plant via a wooden flume. The dam and power plant project was constructed in 1903-04 and began operation on April 12, 1904. Electron was the site of a CCC camp in the 1930s. A mudslide A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/ ... destroyed the original powerhouse in 1936; rebuilding was partially completed in 1937 and fully rehabilitated in 1941. There is a small town park in Electron. References {{authority control ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (state), Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the List of national parks of the United States, fourth national park in the United States, preserving including all of Mount Rainier, a stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, Montane ecology#Subalpine zone, subalpine meadows, and of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow. Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by glaci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tahoma Glacier
The Tahoma Glacier is a long glacier mostly on the western flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains of ice. The glacier starts out near the summit of the volcano at over . As the glacier flows west-southwest out of the summit area, it cascades down a steep rocky face as an icefall from to , where the glacier is connected to the South Mowich Glacier to the north in the Sunset Amphitheater. As the glacier drops below , it broadens and joins the smaller South Tahoma Glacier. After the broad expanse of ice at over , the Tahoma Glacier narrows as it descends around the rocky Glacier Island, a sub-peak of Rainier once fully encircled by both the South Tahoma and Tahoma Glaciers. Leaving the bottleneck in the glacier, the glacier splits; the larger, longer northern arm continues flowing west-southwest and terminates at around . The southern arm flows south towards the arm of the South Tahoma Glacier, but this arm terminates before it rejoins the South Tahoma at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puyallup Glacier
The Puyallup Glacier is a glacier on the west flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains 10.2 billion ft3 (289 million m3) of ice. Sharing the same source of ice as the northern South Mowich Glacier, the Puyallup Glacier begins as a branch off the ice stream that flow out of the Sunset Amphitheater. From the split at around , the glacier expands into a broad sheet of ice ranging from to in elevation. Leaving the large expanse of ice, the glacier flows down a small valley, it narrows significantly as it turns northwestward. From there on, the glacier is dirty and ends on steep, uneven terrain at about . The glacier gives rise to the Puyallup River. See also *List of glaciers A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defor ... References {{Authority control ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Before Present
Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use 1January 1950 as the commencement date (epoch) of the age scale, with 1950 being labelled as the "standard year". The abbreviation "BP" has been interpreted retrospectively as "Before Physics", which refers to the time before nuclear weapons testing artificially altered the proportion of the carbon isotopes in the atmosphere, which scientists must account for when using radiocarbon dating for dates of origin that may fall after this year. In a convention that is not always observed, many sources restrict the use of BP dates to those produced with radiocarbon dating; the alternative notation "RCYBP" stands for the explicit "radio carbon years before present". Usage The BP scale is s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lahar
A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are often extremely destructive and deadly; they can flow tens of metres per second, they have been known to be up to deep, and large flows tend to destroy any structures in their path. Notable lahars include those at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, the latter of which killed more than 20,000 people in the Armero tragedy. Etymology The word ''lahar'' is of Javanese language, Javanese origin. Berend George Escher introduced it as a geological term in 1922. Description The word ''lahar'' is a general term for a flowing mixture of water and pyroclastic debris. It does not refer to a particular rheology or sediment concentration. Lahars can occur as normal stream flows (sediment concentration of less than 30%), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial period within the ongoing Ice age, glacial cycles of the Quaternary, and is equivalent to Marine isotope stages, Marine Isotope Stage 1. The Holocene correlates with the last maximum axial tilt towards the Sun of the Earth#Axial tilt and seasons, Earth's obliquity. The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth, and impacts of the human species worldwide, including Recorded history, all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban culture, urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global significance for th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |