Hydrologic Regimes: Notions of Flooding in the Puyallup River Valley

Abstract

Through a careful examination of floods in the Puyallup Valley in 1933 and 1977, and the social, cultural, and economic changes that connect them, this essay traces a gradual progression from completely anthropocentric conceptions of man pitted against nature to a more holistic understanding of the natural world and humanity’s place within it. While this holistic notion remained wrought with misconceptions and guided by an anthropocentric conception of nature, it demonstrated Pierce County residents’ increasing acknowledgement of the limits to their ability to control nature. This process which occurred in the Puyallup Valley mirrored broader shifts in environmental views at the regional and national levels.