| Touchet River | |
|---|---|
 Touchet River in Dayton in spring | |
  Location of the mouth of the Touchet River in Washington | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Walla Walla, Columbia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North and South forks, Touchet River |
| • location | Dayton, Columbia County |
| • coordinates | 46°18′05″N 117°57′32″W / 46.30139°N 117.95889°W[1] |
| • elevation | 1,671 ft (509 m)[2] |
| Mouth | Walla Walla River |
• location | Touchet, Walla Walla County |
• coordinates | 46°02′01″N 118°40′59″W / 46.03361°N 118.68306°W[1] |
• elevation | 430 ft (130 m)[1] |
| Length | 65 mi (105 km)[3] |
| Basin size | 752 sq mi (1,950 km2)[3] |
The Touchet River /ˈtuːʃi/ is a 65-mile (105 km)[3] tributary of the Walla Walla River in southeastern Washington in the United States. The Touchet River drains an area of about 752 square miles (1,950 km2)[3] in Columbia County and Walla Walla County.[4][5]
The upper Touchet was a traditional summer meeting place for trade and games for the Palus, Nez Perce and Walla Walla tribes. The name Touchet derives from the similarly pronounced Sahaptin term for the river, Tu-se meaning roasting. Nez Perce legend tells that coyote roasted salmon at this river after breaking a fish dam guarded by the seven swallow sisters at Celilo.
The USGS cited two variant names, Pouchet River and Toosha River.[1]
- ^ a b c d "Touchet River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. September 10, 1979. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
- ^ a b c d United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed February 18, 2024
- ^ Cohen, Saul B. Editor (1962). Gazetteer of the Word. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-11040-5.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Washington Road & Recreation Atlas, Benchmark Maps, Medford, Oregon, 2002