Winchester Dam Fish Ladder, North Umpqua River Live Cam

This camera looks through an underwater window at the fish ladder of Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River in Oregon. The picture shows the vertical slats of the ladder channel, the water surface above them and bits of drifting plant matter.

Winchester Dam crosses the North Umpqua River at Winchester, in Douglas County just north of Roseburg, and its public fish viewing area is reached from exit 129 of Interstate 5. The ladder lets migrating fish pass the dam, and the fish using it have been counted on video since 1991. The main species are summer and winter steelhead, spring Chinook and coho salmon.

The view is fixed and shows the ladder from the side, so the scene changes with the light, the clarity of the water and what collects against the slats. Numbered marks on the wall beside the window give a sense of scale.