Calawah River

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Calawah River
Calawah River.jpg
Calawah River, looking upstream from the US Highway 101 bridge
Calawah River
Location
CountryUnited States
State Washington
RegionClallam County, Washington
Physical characteristics
SourceOlympic Mountains
  locationOlympic Peninsula
  coordinates 47°58′14″N124°20′03″W / 47.97056°N 124.33417°W / 47.97056; -124.33417
Mouth Bogachiel River
  coordinates
47°55′58″N124°26′51″W / 47.93278°N 124.44750°W / 47.93278; -124.44750
  elevation
26 ft (7.9 m)
Length31 mi (50 km)
Basin size160 sq mi (410 km2)
Discharge 
  locationUSGS gage 12043000 at river mile 6.6, near Forks, WA [1]
  average1,048 cu ft/s (29.7 m3/s) [1]
  minimum15 cu ft/s (0.42 m3/s)
  maximum38,100 cu ft/s (1,080 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
  leftSouth Fork Calawah River
  rightNorth Fork Calawah River

The Calawah River is a 31 mi (50 km) [2] tributary of the Bogachiel River in Clallam County in the U.S. state of Washington, on its Olympic Peninsula. [3] Its two major tributaries are the South and North Forks Calawah River. [4] The river drains an unpopulated portion of the low foothills of the Olympic Mountains; its entire watershed consists of virgin forest. [5] The river drains 129 square miles (330 km2) above U.S. Highway 101, which crosses the river about 6.6 miles (10.6 km) upstream of its mouth. [6]

The river's name comes from the Quileute word qàló?wa:, meaning "in between", [7] or "middle river". [8]

The highway 101 bridge over the Calawah River, near Forks, Washington Calawah River 101 bridge.jpg
The highway 101 bridge over the Calawah River, near Forks, Washington

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Water-Data Report 2008, 12043000 Calawah River near Forks, WA" (PDF). USGS . Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  2. "Physical characteristics of selected rivers draining the Olympic Peninsula, Washington". Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  3. Landes, Henry (1917). Bulletin. Washington Geological Survey, p. 88
  4. "Calawah River". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. Wood, Robert (2000). Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park and National Forest. The Mountaineers Books. ISBN   0-89886-618-9, p. 310
  6. "Calawah River Streamflow for Forks, Washington". National Water Information System. United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  7. Bright, William (2007). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 76. ISBN   978-0-8061-3598-4.
  8. Parratt, Smitty (1984). Gods & goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park. CP Publications. p. 18. ISBN   0-914195-00-X.