Elwha River Watershed

Big Water Consulting contracted with the Burke Museum to create two maps of the Elwha River area where massive dam deconstruction has taken place in an effort to bring new life to the river and its environs. Big Water’s geospatial specialists used several GIS software packages to create a cartographic representation of the regions surrounding the Elwha River, through hypsometric tints, watershed masks and depictions of features such as hydrography, former dam locations and geographic boundaries. GIS software was then used to create a layered map comparing the traditional Klallam/S’Klallam territory with the modern reservation lands. The two maps were on display at the Burke Museum’s exhibit entitled: “Elwha: A River Reborn” from November 23, 2013 through March 9, 2014.