Fall Salmon Run 🐟 – Feather River – Oroville, California

Each autumn the salmon return to the very place that they were born to lay their eggs. We have visited the salmon ladders in Oroville, California for the past 7 years (since K was born). We went last year just before the Camp Fire struck, and we were so happy to see the salmon this past Sabbath (10/5/19)! We feel a little bit like salmon, having traveled around the western United States for the past nine and a half months and then returning home. It was a nostalgic field trip. This post is chock full of educational information about salmon. I hope you enjoy learning some fun facts.

We could see the fish jumping out of the river. Sometimes we can see more, sometimes not so many. It was really hard to get a good photo for y’all. You’ll have to use your imagination…

(Photo of me by E)

The last informational sign was half shaded and half sunny, the photo didn’t turn out very well, so I’m typing the last tidbit of learnin’ here for ya.

Why A Hatchery?

Upstream from here is the Lake Oroville Dam.  It supplies water to millions of Californians and flood control for the region. Construction of the Oroville Dam altered the Feather River, destroying some spawning ans nursery grounds.  In 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the California Department of Water Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife jointly planned the hatchery to compensate for this loss. The hatchery handles about 20 percent of the spawning fish; the remainder spawn naturally in the river below the barrier dam.

We hope this post inspires you to visit a nearby river and learn about some wildlife that lives there!  If you are ever near Oroville, California in the fall season we highly recommend a trip to the salmon ladders!

Thanks for following us!