View the watershed’s varied habitats.
The Cedar River Watershed was literally carved by glaciers.
Its habitats reflect the interaction of:
- the physical template
- the historic and current climate of the Pacific Northwest
- the effects of natural and human disturbance
Ranging in elevation from about 500 to over 5,000 feet above sea level, the two-thirds of the watershed under City ownership extends from the Puget Sound lowlands to the crest of the central Cascade Mountains. It is a largely forested landscape, drained by a network of streams and harboring a variety of other habitats that contribute to a rich biological diversity.
We generally divide the Cedar River Watershed into lower and upper regions. The lower watershed includes the Cedar River and its tributary basins downstream of Cedar Falls to Landsburg. See Lower Cedar River Watershed Map (pdf).
The upper watershed includes the mountainous valley and ridges above Cedar Falls to the eastern end at the crest of the Cascade Mountains. See Upper Cedar River Watershed Map (pdf).
Habitat types in the watershed: