Raging River | |
---|---|
Location | |
State | Washington |
County | King |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | South side of Rattlesnake Ridge |
Mouth | Snoqualmie River |
Discharge | |
• location | USGS gage 12145500, near Fall City, WA, river mile 2.6 [1] |
• average | 130 cu ft/s (3.7 m3/s) [1] |
• minimum | 4.4 cu ft/s (0.12 m3/s) |
• maximum | 3,340 cu ft/s (95 m3/s) |
The Raging River is a tributary of the Snoqualmie River in western Washington state in the United States. It is located in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains in east central King County, Washington. It gets its name from the large amount of water it sometimes carries. The record discharge at the gaging station is over 4,000 cubic feet (110 m3) per second. [2] The Raging is a salmon-bearing river and supports one-fifth of the Snoqualmie River's chinook runs. [3]
The river begins in the valley formed by Rattlesnake Ridge to the east and Taylor Mountain to the west in the Raging River State Forest, managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. It flows northwest, crossing State Route 18, and then continues north past Tiger Mountain, crossing Interstate 90 near Preston, Washington, and joining the Snoqualmie River near Fall City, Washington. The Raging River watershed is part of the larger Puget Sound drainage basin. The average annual flow in the river is 149 cubic feet (4.2 m3) per second [4] and the drainage area is 32 square miles. [5]
Until 2009, almost half of the Raging River basin was privately owned. In the spring of that year, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and King County partnered to purchase 7,000 acres (2,800 ha), filling a large gap in the Mountains to Sound Greenway. [3]
The Preston-Snoqualmie Trail follows along the Raging River and Preston-Fall City Road for a 3½ mile stretch and continues toward Snoqualmie Falls. [6] The trail is bike and dog friendly.
In the winter of 2012 the Washington Department of Natural Resources began a public planning activity to guide the development of recreation opportunities in the Snoqualmie Corridor, including specifically the Raging River State Forest.
The lower half of the Raging River from Preston to Fall City is 5 miles (8.0 km) long and has been rated as a class III+ (difficult) section for kayaking. [7]
The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam called the river Tâpe têtt, possibly from the French tape-tête, meaning "head hit". The length of the river from headwaters to mouth is 214 miles (344 km), with an average drop of 9.85 feet per mile (1.866 m/km). It is the longest river entirely in Washington state.
The Snoqualmie River is a 45-mile (72 km) long river in King County and Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and South Forks, which drain the west side of the Cascade Mountains near the town of North Bend and join near the town of Snoqualmie just above the Snoqualmie Falls. After the falls the river flows north through rich farmland and the towns of Fall City, Carnation, and Duvall before meeting the Skykomish River to form the Snohomish River near Monroe. The Snohomish River empties into Puget Sound at Everett. Other tributaries of the Snoqualmie River include the Taylor River and the Pratt River, both of which enter the Middle Fork, the Tolt River, which joins at Carnation, and the Raging River at Fall City.
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