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Chimacum Creek

Chimacum Creek is a stream in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. Located on the base of the Quimper Peninsula, the main stem originates from springs and ponds in the forested hills south of Discovery Bay. It flows south from its source, then turns east, then north, taking in tributaries before entering Chimacum Valley. It enters a ravine where it meets the sea in Port Hadlock-Irondale, creating a small estuary and an area of intertidal wetland as it enters Port Townsend Bay. The topography of the watershed was shaped by the Cordilleran ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum, which deposited large amounts of glacial outwash and sedimentary material. The area was the traditional lands of the Chemakum people, who were devastated by disease and massacres before the 1850s. The watershed was dredged and channelized during the early 20th century, turning the creek into a relatively straight channel. Environmental restoration projects help protect the spawning runs of coho salmon. (Full article...)

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Annotated illustration of a female Culex pipiens mosquito

Mosquitoes (Culicidae) are a family of more than 3,700 species of flies found throughout most of the world. Both sexes feed on nectar, but females of many species also drink blood, using specialised mouthparts to pierce their hosts' skin. Mosquitoes undergo four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult, with the first three being largely aquatic. Some mosquito species transmit diseases including malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever, causing more than a million human deaths annually. Mosquitoes also serve as pollinators and as food for other animals. This annotated illustration shows the major body parts of a female mosquito of the species Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito. Its slender body is divided into three sections: the head, the thorax and the abdomen, and it has a pair of narrow wings and six long, jointed legs. The head bears two compound eyes, a pair of antennae, and an elongated proboscis adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood.

Illustration credit: Mariana Ruiz Villarreal

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