Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks and the salmon/fish-ladder lore

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (Ballard Locks) include a fish ladder built to allow salmon and other anadromous fish to migrate between Puget Sound and the freshwater Ship Canal and Lake Washington; the locks opened in 1917 as part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal project. Local stories and visitor accounts frequently describe seals and sea lions entering the locks to follow salmon runs; those marine mammal visits are documented but their long-term impact on salmon populations is debated among biologists. The site is a documented focal point for public viewing of salmon migration and related local myths about wildlife behavior.