Overview
Construction Photos:
March | July | September
Taima the Eagle | Illahee the Salmon | Natural History
Overview
Eagle Canyon, opening spring 2004, tells the stories of bald eagles and endangered salmon, while stressing the importance of forest streams and rivers. The exhibit also highlights how both species play an integral role in the Northwest ecosystem. Eagle Canyon is part of the $30 million Great Northwest exhibit, which includes Cascade Crest (opened 1998) and Steller Cove (opened 2000). Eagle Canyon was 
designed and managed in-house by the zoo’s construction and maintenance division.
Take a walk through Eagle Canyon...
As you walk along a wooded path, you’re drawn to the sounds of a gentle stream. Along the path, you see bald eagles gliding among the tall Douglas fir trees. You cross a series of small footbridges over waterfalls and tributaries carved into the exposed bedrock. Along the way, 
you stop on a covered bridge, spanning the canyon. Here you enjoy a scenic view of a deep wooded ravine. Nearby, children climb into a monstrous artificial eagle’s nest, which gives them a glimpse of what life as an eagle is like. Read the story of Taima the eagle. The sound of raging water hints to what comes next—a scenic waterfall.
Down the path, interactive displays tell the story of the salmon’s struggle to survive. Further along the trail, you come along a hollow log that kids scramble through as a shortcut to the salmon stream. Some parents walk down an impressive boulder staircase, while others take a less steep stroll near the cascading stream. Here you place your hands in the rushing torrent to touch and move salmon sculptures to better understand the streamlining of the fish. Traveling further along, you enter a lava tube tunnel lush with plants and fallen logs above. Inside, you find 
yourself near schools of shimmering salmon. You watch the endangered fish dart through beams of sunlight as they swim in a deep, glacier-fed pool. You watch as a single salmon swims right up next to the acrylic window, as if he were trying to get a closer look at you! Read the story of Illahee the Salmon.
As you leave Eagle Canyon you enter the Cascade exhibit where frolicking river otters play and beavers build sturdy dams. Read about what makes a healthy stream.
The intended opening of Eagle Canyon is in Spring, 2004.
Taima the Eagle | Illahee the Salmon | Natural History
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