Environment
First 15 days of egg development may determine survival for California's most endangered salmon
Key Points
Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon are California's most endangered salmon, with a single surviving population and an average of a few thousand returning fish in recent decades. Shasta Dam blocks their original habitat in cold mountain rivers draining Mount Shasta, leaving them to spawn in the low-lying Sacramento River, heated by the summer sun.
Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon are California's most endangered salmon, with a single surviving population and an average of a few thousand returning fish in recent decades. Shasta Dam blocks their original habitat in cold mountain rivers draining Mount Shasta, leaving them to spawn in the low-lying Sacramento River, heated by the summer sun.