fauntleroy creek
An anadromous, year-round creek fed by springs and runoff, Fauntleroy Creek is on the West Seattle peninsula, across Elliott Bay from downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It drops 300 feet in elevation over its one-mile course from wetlands in Fauntleroy Park to Puget Sound, due north of the ferry pier in Fauntleroy Cove. Thanks to Fauntleroy Park, smaller park spaces, and an undeveloped city right-of-way, much of the creek corridor is in public ownership
water volume and quality
Discharge is typically .5 cubic feet per second. During heavy rain, it increases to as much as 4 cubic feet per second. Water depth in the mainstem is about 4” on a dry day. Water temperature (about 50o F. year round) and dissolved oxygen are healthy for salmonids and aquatic insects. As in other urban creeks, fecal coliform bacteria, primarily from pet waste, are an ongoing pollution concern.
salmon habitat
Historically a habitat for cutthroat trout, the creek has provided nurturing habitat for coho salmon since 1991, when schoolchildren began releasing fry reared through the Salmon in the Schools program. Coho have spawned in the lower creek between Halloween and Thanksgiving since 1994; the number has ranged from 0 to 274, depending principally on nearshore and ocean conditions, as well as predation and commercial fishing.
Cove Park and Lincoln Park provide the public with glimpses of nearshore habitat in Fauntleroy Cove, where juvenile salmon come from far and near for food and protection as they prepare for their time in open water.