View allAll Photos Tagged ballardlocks
Item 158480, SDOT Transportation Projects Digital Photographs (Record Series 8100-01), Seattle Municipal Archives.
There were a few fish in the viewing section of the ladder, and this little guy was one of them. He was swimming like gangbusters :)
My friend Brian lent me his Sigma 10-20mm lens to shoot this with, thanks man!
"Salmon Waves," artist Paul Sorey, 2001, is located at the Hiram M. Chittenden Memorial Locks
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Lake Washington Ship Canal aerial view, Seattle, Washington, n.d.
Photographer:
Marlow
Subjects (LCSH):
Booms (Log transportation)--Washington (State)--Seattle
Ballard (Seattle, Wash.)
Digital Collection:
Seattle Photograph Collection
content.lib.washington.edu/seattleweb/index.html
Item Number: SEA1057
Persistent URL:
content.lib.washington.edu/u?/seattle,589
Visit Special Collections reproductions and rights page for information on ordering a copy.
University of Washington Libraries. Digital Collections content.lib.washington.edu/
Windows in the Ballard Locks fish ladder allow viewing of the fish as they travel through. I found it difficult to get a decent shot of the fish. The lighting was terrible and the area was extremely crowded with people jostling to get a view. Plus the surface of the glass was pitted and scratched. And on top of all those challenges the fish did not want to pose!
Two Osprey fledglings (Pandion haliaetus) dine under watchful mum at Seattle nesting platform. Papa brought the fish then took his portion to another perch. On this go 'round, mum left all of the food for the fledglings. I'm not sure if she ate before I arrived. Both youngsters are flying, still working on their aerial skills and their landing techniques.
This cute little fish and chips cafe is just outside the Ballard Locks. We stopped there after our afternoon jaunt and ate some super yummy ice cream (blackberry for my mom, strawberry for me and toasted coconut for my dad),
The last week before the start of kindergarten, we fit in a couple last outings. Evan and I went to the Ballard Locks one morning, then met Steve in Ballard for lunch and ice cream. I've taken several pictures of boats going through the locks before, so I tried to take some pictures of the wave sculptures this time.
It was just another walk in the neighborhood, but we heard a bird repeatedly calling where we couldn't see any. Soon enough, Julie saw the nest at the top of the railroad bridge trestle, crossing the canal just west of the Ballard Locks. It could only be an osprey nest, that large and that high. Indeed, soon enough we saw the adult return, bringing food to the hungry nestling.
Both male and female adults feed the nestlings, so we don't know which one it was.
Osprey nests are built near water, on large dead trees or structures that resemble dead trees (such as this one). They eat almost exclusively fish, only straying from this diet if forced to. They prefer water surrounded by woodlands. Since the Ballard Locks is a major thruway for salmon returning to spawn in Lake Washington, this is a good spot for the nest. Osprey nests are reused year after year, getting a little larger each year. It's very likely this pair or another will be back next year. (BirdWeb)
The female lays between two and four eggs, typically three. The first egg hatches up to five days before the last one, giving that chick a head start on growth. If food is abundant, there is little aggression among the nestlings. But if food is scarce, the younger chicks often starve. (All About Birds)
Chittenden Locks, Ballard
August, 2010
Photos from a walk around the Hiram Crittenden Locks (locally known as the Ballard Locks) in Seattle, Washington.
From the US Army Corps of Engineers website:
The complex of locks sit in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)
The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 150 ft, 8.5 x 45.7 meter) and a large (80 x 825, 24.4 x 251.5 meter). The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 meter) spillway with six (32 x 12-foot (3.7 m), 9.8 x 3.7 meter) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.
The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Finally found a colony in our state. Purple Martins aren't everywhere in WA State like they are in the midwest and eastern U.S. but slowly they're becoming more nad more common. There are several colonies in Seattle, one in Everett, and a colony or two in lower puget sound regions like Olympia and Tacoma area.
The young in this colony are probably 3 weeks or so from fledging. The martins are some of the last arriving martins int he North America. A few make it up to BC, Canada area.
This is Shilshole Bay next to the Ballard Elks Club lodge in Seattle, WA.
At the north edge of Seattle, Washington is the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (locally nicknamed the Ballard Locks) raise the water from sea level at the Pacific Ocean up to the level of Lake Washington, a few miles inland. The locks have been in service since 1917. Here the University of Washington research vessel "Thomas G. Thompson" passes through the locks.
View my collections on flickr here: Collections
Press "L" for a larger image on black.
Against a big leaf, in the Carl S. English Jr. botanical garden at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, a.k.a. the Ballard Locks.
Photos from a walk around the Hiram Crittenden Locks (locally known as the Ballard Locks) in Seattle, Washington.
From the US Army Corps of Engineers website:
The complex of locks sit in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)
The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 150 ft, 8.5 x 45.7 meter) and a large (80 x 825, 24.4 x 251.5 meter). The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 meter) spillway with six (32 x 12-foot (3.7 m), 9.8 x 3.7 meter) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.
The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The locks is also home to the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden — a beautiful park-like setting and a great escape from the city.
You can lounge on the grass and watch the boats go by. The Ballard Locks also features a visitor’s center with interpretive exhibits and a gift shop. Visiting hours for the locks and surrounding garden is 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. year-round. The fish ladder is open 7 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. year-round. Admission is free.
After the locks were built in 1911, landscape architect Carl English of the United States Army Corps of Engineers transformed the construction site into garden in an English landscape style. All told, he spent 43 years planting and tending the gardens. Today they contain more than 500 species and 1,500 varieties of plants from around the world, including fan palms, oaks, Mexican pines, rhododendrons, and a fine display of roses. The gardens also exhibit an extensive fuchsia display and a special section for lilies in season.