Amon Creek
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Amon Creek is the largest
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the Lower
Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam N ...
in Benton County,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
. From the source of its East Fork to its mouth at the Yakima, it flows about , passing through
Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...
and Richland. The East Fork as well as the main course north of where both forks come together flow south to north. The West Fork starts in Badger Canyon by heading south, but slowly wraps around along with the topography of the canyon to flow out of it northbound. There is an easily visible
riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...
along most of the length of the main course, along with the West Fork up Badger Canyon and the East Fork until I-82.


Course

The entire course of Amon Creek, as well as its two forks, is within Benton County. The creek flows through the
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the
Cascade mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...
. Because of this, the creek serves an important role as an
oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentcanyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...
through residential portions of Richland. After passing under Columbia Park Trail, the creek enters the dense forest of the Yakima River Delta before ending at the Yakima River a mile from where it meets the Columbia. Only about 1% of the discharge into the Yakima River is natural.


West Fork

The West Fork of Amon Creek rises in Badger Canyon southwest of Richland. It flows through the canyon parallel to Badger Road until near Cottonwood Elementary School, where it breaks away and flows under Interstate 82 to the west of Badger Road. From there it flows through the Amon Creek Natural Preserve. After that it flows into the Meadow Springs Country Club where it meets the East Fork.


East Fork

The East Fork of Amon Creek rises in the Horse Heaven Hills south of Kennewick and typically only flows when the
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
canals are full. Above Interstate 82, the East Fork is usually dry except in times of heavy snow melt or rainfall. After passing under I-82 and entering Kennewick, the East Fork is largely used as a wasteway for
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
s operated by the Kennewick Irrigation District (KID). It then flows past
orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...
, under Clearwater Avenue, briefly through Amon Basin, and enters the Meadow Springs Country Club.


Amon Basin

Amon Basin is a bowl-shaped area upstream of the Meadow Springs Country Club which holds both the West Fork and the East Fork of Amon Creek. While the two forks pass within about a third of a mile of each other, their confluence is about a mile upstream. The Amon Basin has unique ecological significance to the area, especially in the
wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
along the West Fork where several different kinds of animals can be seen. Outside of the riparian zone, one finds
sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...
as well as animal life that is typical of the Columbia Basin. The basin extends further south along the West Fork than it does along the East Fork.


Recreation

There are several recreational opportunities along the length of the creek. South of Thompson Hill, many people make use of small two-track roads that cross the East Fork for
off-roading Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events w ...
. On the West Fork just north of I-82, there is the Amon Creek Nature Preserve in Amon Basin which includes several trails for
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
and observing the wildlife. The confluence of the two forks is in the Meadow Springs Country Club, which is an 18-hole
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
. At the mouth of the creek in the Yakima River Delta there is a dense forest administered by the
USACE The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: #The Engineer Regiment, Engineer Regiment, military constr ...
which holds many trails for hiking and
mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
.
Bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...
is also popular along the entire length of the creek as many migrant
birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
utilize the
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
around the creek while they are in the Columbia Basin.


Wildlife

Below Meadow Springs Country Club, several
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
species have been spotted. In some years, these can include
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
and
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
, however summer water temperatures, which can exceed , can be lethal to fish populations. The creek also serves as an
oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentvegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
around it. The basin around the creek serves as a home to
hares Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...
,
quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...
and
beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
. River otters have been spotted in the creek. In Amon Basin, there are about a half dozen beaver dams which form small ponds along the length of the creek in that area. It is believed that
fish hatcheries A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, Egg#Fish and amphibian eggs, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of t ...
run by the
Yakama Nation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat ...
have contributed to the fish population in the creek.


History

Around 8 million years ago, as the Cascade Mountains were starting to rise, the Columbia River changed its course to flow through what is now
Wallula Gap Wallula Gap () is a large water gap of the Columbia River in the Northwestern United States, in Southeastern Washington. It cuts through the Horse Heaven Hills basalt anticlines in the Columbia River Basin, just south of the confluence of t ...
. The Yakima River then formed and flowed through Badger Canyon and the Amon Basin, which were carved by the Columbia. Around 10,000 years ago, the Missoula Floods further altered the landscape, opening up the Horn Rapids area for the Yakima River to flow through. The West Fork now utilizes the canyons left by the Yakima and Columbia Rivers. In 1970, the West Fork was altered to provide irrigation to the new Meadow Springs Country Club. They built four
reservoirs A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrup ...
connected by culverts. This made fish passage through the golf course on the West Fork nearly impossible. The East Fork was left in its natural state. Conditions on the West Fork further worsened in 1998 when a KID canal broke, causing release of
sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
with the floodwater. Though the floodplain upstream of the golf course served its purpose well, the upper two reservoirs were filled with four feet of sediment, decreasing the depth to between 12 and 18 inches (30 to 46 cm). This starkly raised temperatures in the creek. In 2008, over 16 tons of illegally dumped trash were removed from the newly established Amon Creek Nature Preserve along the West Fork directly upstream of the golf course. Volunteers also removed 14 broken-down vehicles.


See also

* Zintel Canyon Dam


References

{{authority control Horse Heaven Hills Tri-Cities, Washington Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Benton County, Washington Protected areas of Washington (state) Tributaries of the Yakima River