Why "The Eel?"

The Eel River with its many branches and tributaries, has the third largest watershed in California. It covers 3684 square miles and extends into eight California counties. The Eel is a dramatic geographic feature that runs significantly through much of northern California history, and it is an integral part of our present-day life in Humboldt County.

But why call such a magnificent waterway “The Eel” of all things? When an outsider contemplates going to the Eel River to fish or swim, it may conjure images of slimy wriggly things – maybe even packing deadly electric charges.

Well for one thing, there are indeed “eel” in the river among many other creatures, most importantly salmon and trout. But these are not real eels. Technically they are lampreys. And in no way are they electric.

In fact, the lamprey is a very different “kettle of fish”. Lampreys appeared on earth several hundred million years ago, before even the dinosaurs arrived. These primitive creatures have no bones, only cartilage, and no scales or ray fins. Instead of jaws like real eels, they have round sucking mouths that look like something from a sci-fi horror movie.

Eels are, in fact, modern fish with bones, fins, scales and jaws. The only ones found naturally in California are the moray eel which is limited to the southern part of the state. But like their fish neighbors in the rivers, lampreys go through a cycle of river birth, swimming to the Pacific for one to three years, and then returning to spawn in the rivers.

So how did this peculiar creature get a river named after it?  The answer goes back to 1849 when a small group of explorers led by Dr. Josiah Gregg and Lewis K. Wood headed west from the Trinity Mountain gold fields seeking a sea port that would give easier access to that gold. After a nearly two month arduous trip through winter-battered mountains, they did reach the coast near the Mad River, a river which received its name when Gregg wanted to delay for more scientific studies and the others angrily wanted to move on.

They then turned south and reached the bay, soon to be named Humboldt, where local Wiyots assisted them with food and canoe transport until they eventually entered the Eel valley. Here another dispute split the party, with Gregg and several others heading one way, eventually leading them to being the first to report their findings to anxious gold-seekers in San Francisco. Gregg himself died on the way.

Wood was in the other group which followed the river where hungry and exhausted, they were introduced to edible “eels” by local Wiyot. Lamprey had been an indigenous staple for centuries, and the explorers soon learned the skills of roasting or boiling the creatures. They initially traded beads for the fish, but the most attractive currency was scraps of iron from smashed cooking pots. Wood reported trading one iron sherd for as many as a dozen eel.

Wood and his party continued south along the river and over mountains where they endured more privations and dangers – including mauling by grizzly bears from which Wood took months to recover. But in his account of their journey, Wood left an indelible mark on our region’s history. He named the river they had followed in honor of the life-sustaining “eel”.