January Evening at the Mouth of the Klamath River

This was recorded at sunset on a cloudy evening in late January during an outgoing tide beside the mouth of the Klamath River in northern California.

The steady roar of large surf breaking far out is punctuated by waves pushing in against the strong current of the river and breaking along the sandy shore. The river was a deep chocolate brown as it entered the ocean, carrying with it decades of sediment that had been trapped behind Copco 1 dam, which was breached only days prior to this recording. It was the last of four dams to be breached before eventually being dismantled and removed as part of the largest dam removal project in American history. The dam removal is part of a larger effort to restore the Klamath River ecosystem and enable salmon and other anadromous fish to once again access their historic spawning areas in the river and its many tributaries above the dams. For the first time in over a century the river is once again flowing freely.