Úyanaam

This large rapid near near the confluence of Deadhorse Creek is the only one of its size between the forks of Wooley Creek and the gorges downstream of Wooley Camp. It is a bedrock rapid with two channels. The river right channel is the "sneak" an is separated from the left channel by a large bedrock fin. The rapid can be scouted and/or portaged on river right. Úynaam is the Karuk name for this site, which is a traditional spear-fishing site. The rapid's bedrock shelfcreated a seasonal barrier to fish migration (helping to separate the spring Chinook from the genetically distinct fall Chinook). In the early 1980s, the U.S. Forest Service blasted the bedrock at Úynaam to facilitate easier passage for fish, to the detriment of the fishing site and the unique genetics of spring Chinook, which now cross-breed with fall Chinook since the barrier no longer provides physical separation. (Bloomer Falls on the mainstem Salmon River was similarly blasted by the California Department of Fish and Game in 1982.)