Baker River (Washington)

Baker River
Baker River upstream of Baker Lake
Map of the Baker River watershed
Location of the mouth of Baker River in Washington
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Skagit, Whatcom
Physical characteristics
Source	Cascade Range
• location	Whatcom Peak, Whatcom County
• coordinates	48°51′1″N 121°22′52″W / 48.85028°N 121.38111°W / 48.85028; -121.38111[1]
• elevation	5,800 ft (1,800 m)
Mouth	Skagit River
• location	Concrete, Skagit County
• coordinates	48°45′54″N 121°32′34″W / 48.76500°N 121.54278°W / 48.76500; -121.54278[1]
• elevation	820 ft (250 m)[1]
Length	30 mi (48 km)[1]
Basin size	297 sq mi (770 km2)[2]
Discharge
• location	river mile 0.7 near Concrete, WA[2]
• average	2,649 cu ft/s (75.0 m3/s)[2]
• minimum	30 cu ft/s (0.85 m3/s)
• maximum	36,600 cu ft/s (1,040 m3/s)

The Baker River (Lushootseed: dxʷqəlb)^[3] is an approximately 30-mile (48 km),^[1] southward-flowing tributary of the Skagit River in northwestern Washington in the United States. It drains an area of the high North Cascades in the watershed of Puget Sound north of Seattle, and east of Mount Baker. With a watershed of approximately 270 square miles (700 km²) in a complex of deep valleys partially inside North Cascades National Park, it is the last major tributary of the Skagit before the larger river reaches its mouth on Skagit Bay. The river flows through Concrete, Washington, near its mouth and has two hydroelectric dams owned by Puget Sound Energy.