Puyallup River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Washington |
Counties | Pierce |
Cities | Orting, Puyallup, Tacoma |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Mount Rainier |
• coordinates | 46°51′50″N121°57′4″W / 46.86389°N 121.95111°W [1] |
• elevation | 2,280 ft (690 m) [2] |
Mouth | Puget Sound |
• location | Commencement Bay |
• coordinates | 47°16′10″N122°25′42″W / 47.26944°N 122.42833°W [1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) [2] |
Length | 45 mi (72 km) [3] |
Basin size | 948 sq mi (2,460 km2) [4] |
Discharge | |
• location | Puyallup [4] |
• average | 3,313 cu ft/s (93.8 m3/s) [4] |
• minimum | 400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) |
• maximum | 57,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | Mowich River, Carbon River, White River |
The Puyallup River ( /pjuːˈæləp/ pyew-AL-əp) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About 45 miles (72 km) long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its tributaries drain an area of about 948 square miles (2,460 km2) in Pierce County and southern King County. [5]
The river's watershed is the youngest in the Puget Sound region, having been formed from a series of lahars starting about 5,600 years ago. [6] The valley's 150,000 residents are at risk from future lahars. For this reason, the United States Geological Survey has installed a lahar warning system.
The Puyallup River begins in two forks, the North Puyallup River and the South Puyallup River. Both originate at glaciers on Mount Rainier. The North Puyallup River flows from the toe of Puyallup Glacier, while the South Puyallup River flows from Tahoma Glacier. The two streams flow through the western part of Mount Rainier National Park, joining just outside the park boundary and forming the Puyallup River proper.
The main Puyallup River flows north and northwest from Mount Rainier. The tributary Mowich River, which also flows from glaciers on Mount Rainier, joins the Puyallup from the east. Below the Mowich confluence, the Puyallup River flows through a rugged region of mountains and foothills. The river is dammed at Electron Diversion Dam shortly below the Mowich confluence. The dam diverts a portion of the Puyallup River into a long flume, which runs for several miles to Electron, where the water is passed through turbines in a hydroelectric powerhouse before being returned to the river. The Puyallup River passes through a steep and narrow gorge between Electron Dam and the powerhouse.
After Electron the river turns north and flows by the city of Orting, where it is joined by the Carbon River from the east. Like the Mowich, the Carbon River also originates at a glacier on Mount Rainier (the Carbon Glacier). The Puyallup continues its northernly course after Orting. At Sumner, the river is joined by the White River, another glacier-fed river. At the White River confluence, the Puyallup River turns northwest, flowing by the cities of Puyallup and Fife, and through the Puyallup Indian Reservation, before emptying into Commencement Bay at the Port of Tacoma, part of the city of Tacoma. [7]
The Puyallup River and its main tributaries originate in the glaciers of Mount Rainier. These glaciers continually provide sediment such as silt and gravel to the rivers, creating sand and gravel bars. The thick sediment deposits in the stream beds lower water capacity, which causes the river to meander and flood during periods of high streamflow. It also causes the rivers to become braided and meandering. During the summer glacial meltwater dominates the streamflow, turning the Puyallup River turbid. In addition, the glaciers delay the onset of spring-summer runoff, compared to unglaciated river basins. [5]
Historically, these factors resulted in frequent flooding and extensive floodplain wetlands, and provided a rich and complex habitat for fish and other animals. In addition, the river's mouth at Commencement Bay occupied an extensive tidal flat and wetland estuary delta. Urbanization and an extensive system of flood control structures such as dams, levees, and culverts, have radically altered much of the Puyallup River and its tributaries. The estuary delta at the mouth of the Puyallup River has been almost completely replaced with the facilities of the Port of Tacoma, with less than 5% of the original estuarine habitat remaining. [6]
A fall run of chinook salmon occurs on the river. coho, chum, and pink salmon are also found in the river, along with steelhead, sea-run coastal cutthroat trout, and a threatened species, bull trout. Sockeye salmon are considered indigenous to the basin, but are rarely seen today. [6]
The Puyallup River and its main tributary, the White River, have been subjected to major modifications during the 20th century. The Puyallup River between Sumner and its mouth at Tacoma was straightened. A diversion dam was built at Game Farm Park in 1914 to prevent the White River from flowing on its natural course into the Green River at Auburn; since then it has flowed into the Puyallup River instead of the Green River. Flood protection structures were built along many rivers in the basin, including extensive levees. A flood storage reservoir, Mud Mountain Lake, was created on the White River with the construction of Mud Mountain Dam. As part of the flood control efforts, river channels and embankments have been generally kept clear of debris such as gravel bars, large trees, logjams, and other woody debris. These modifications have radically altered the natural character of the rivers. River widths have been generally reduced. Water now fills nearly all of the land between river banks, instead of the historic pattern of braided meanders and wetlands. [5]
The river is named for the Puyallup tribe, who lived throughout the river basin. After the Treaty of Medicine Creek and the Puget Sound War the Puyallup were granted a reservation on the lower Puyallup River. The Treaty of Medicine Creek recognized native fishing rights on the Puyallup River. These rights were ignored for decades until Bob Satiacum was arrested in 1954 for fishing illegally on the river. His legal case continued for years and resulted in the 1974 Boldt Decision, which granted half of all fishing rights in Washington state to native tribes.
The Puyallup tribe continues to maintain several buildings and properties on reservation lands near the mouth of the river. They are stakeholders in many issues about the river, such as the amount of water diverted at Electron Diversion Dam.
The first known European to explore the Puyallup River valley was William Fraser Tolmie, who in August 1833 made a journey to the Mount Rainier area via the Puyallup and Mowich river valleys. Two Native American guides accompanied Tolmie, Lachalet, a Nisqually Indian, and Nuckalkat, a Puyallup. [8]
Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 59th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Orting is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2020 census.
Puyallup is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States, located about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Tacoma and 35 miles (56 km) south of Seattle. It had a population of 42,973 at the 2020 census. The city's name comes from the Puyallup Tribe of Native Americans and means "the generous people." Puyallup is home to the Washington State Fair, the state's largest fair. The name of the city is notably used in mailing addresses for adjacent unincorporated areas, such as the larger-populated South Hill.
A lahar is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley.
The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens.
The White River is a white, glacial river in the U.S. state of Washington. It flows about 75 miles (121 km) from its source, the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Sumner. It defines part of the boundary between King and Pierce counties.
The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately 81 miles (130 km) long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Puget Sound. Its outlet was designated in 1971 as the Nisqually Delta National Natural Landmark.
The Carbon River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It flows about 30 miles (48 km) from its source, the Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Orting.
William Fraser Tolmie was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician.
The South Mowich Glacier is a glacier located on the western flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) and contains 4.5 billion ft3 of ice. Starting from the high-altitude cliffs above the Sunset Amphitheater at over 12,000 feet (3,700 m), the glacier flows west down Mount Rainier. The glacier is connected to the large Tahoma Glacier to the south near St. Andrews Rock at 11,000 feet (3,400 m). After leaving the Amphitheater, there is an icefall on the glacier where it plunges down below 10,000 feet (3,000 m). As the glacier descends, it gradually turns and by the time the South Mowich meets the Puyallup Glacier at 8,800 feet (2,700 m), the glacier is flowing northwest. As the glacier nears Jeanette Heights, it passes by several turns and becomes very rocky in comparison to the upper sections of the glacier. The glacier splits into two arms before their termini, with a shorter, northern arm ending at 5,500 feet (1,700 m) and the longer, larger southern arm ending near a stand of conifers at 5,100 ft (1,600 m). Meltwater from the glacier drains into the South Mowich River which eventually merges with the Puyallup River.
Tolmie Peak is a 5,920+ -foot peak in the Mount Rainier area of the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Mowich Lake, in the northwest part of Mount Rainier National Park.
The Mowich River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its watershed drains a portion of the western side of Mount Rainier, part of the Cascade Range. The river has two main headwater branches, the South Mowich River and the North Mowich River. The South Mowich is significantly larger and sometimes considered the main river. The Mowich and its tributaries drain several of Mount Rainier's glaciers. The upper portion of its watershed is contained within Mount Rainier National Park. The river flows into the Puyallup River in the foothills west of Mount Rainier.
Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about 59 miles (95 km) south-southeast of Seattle. With a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m), it is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington, the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States, and the tallest in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.
Alderton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,893 at the 2010 census. The community is located in the Puyallup River Valley between the cities of Sumner and Orting.
The Electron Hydroelectric Project, originally known as the Puyallup Project, is a hydroelectric power plant operated by Electron Hydro LLC on the Puyallup River in Pierce County, Washington. It generates 26.2 megawatts (35,100 hp) of electricity and is operated and maintained by approximately 20 full-time employees.
Lake Kapowsin is a lake in Pierce County, Washington, about halfway between Tacoma on Puget Sound, and Mount Rainier in the Cascade Mountains. The lake is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long and 0.15–0.5 miles (0.24–0.80 km) wide, lying in a channel formed by meltwater from the Puget lobe of the Vashon glacier during the Pleistocene glaciation. A small island, Jaybird Island, lies in the northern half of the lake. As indicated by a drowned forest in the lake and other evidence, the Puyallup River was inundated about 550 years ago by a lahar from Mount Rainier called the Electron Mudflow. The mudflow partially filled the channel and blocked Ohop Creek's outlet, forming present-day Lake Kapowsin.
The Bridge for Kids is a proposed bridge across the Carbon River in Orting, Washington, about a mile upstream of where it joins the Puyallup River. It would provide an emergency evacuation route for school children to escape a future lahar flow from Mount Rainier, consisting of an up to 10-meter (33 ft) high flood of mud, rock and boulders. As of 2016, the $40 million bridge was still in the planning phase.
Lake Puyallup developed along the south edge of the Puget Sound Glacier. The glacier was in retreat northward after having reached its most southerly point. Drainage off the north face of Mount Rainier and the melting ice of the glacier was trapped in the valley of the Puyallup River. As the glacier moved north, the lake grew until it reached its largest capacity with the glacier at the glacial front across the Puyallup valley just south of Commencement Bay at Tacoma and northern bend of the White River at Auburn. When the ice retreated further north, it was reduced in depth and volume and takes on the name of Lake Tacoma.
The Osceola Mudflow, also known as the Osceola Lahar, was a debris flow and lahar in the U.S. state of Washington that descended from the summit and northeast slope of Mount Rainier, a volcano in the Cascade Range during a period of eruptions about 5,600 years ago. It traveled down the west and main forks of the White River, passed the location of present-day Enumclaw then reached Puget Sound in several areas, including near the present day sites of Tacoma and Auburn.