Lewis River (Washington)

Lewis River
Lower Falls of the Lewis River
Lewis River (Washington) is located in Washington (state)
Lewis River (Washington)
Location of the mouth of the Lewis River in Washington
Lewis River (Washington) is located in the United States
Lewis River (Washington)
Lewis River (Washington) (the United States)
EtymologyA. Lee Lewis, early settler
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountySkamania, Clark, and Cowlitz
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Adams
 • locationCascade Range, Skamania County, Washington
 • coordinates46°13′28″N 121°31′44″W / 46.22444°N 121.52889°W / 46.22444; -121.52889[1]
 • elevation7,194 ft (2,193 m)[2]
MouthColumbia River
 • location
opposite St. Helens, Oregon, and on the border between
Cowlitz and Clark counties, Washington
 • coordinates
45°51′04″N 122°46′49″W / 45.85111°N 122.78028°W / 45.85111; -122.78028[1]
 • elevation
10 ft (3.0 m)[1]
Length95 mi (153 km)[3]
Basin size1,046 sq mi (2,710 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationmouth (average); max and min at Ariel, WA[5]
 • average6,125 cu ft/s (173.4 m3/s)[5]
 • minimum807.2 cu ft/s (22.86 m3/s)
 • maximum129,000 cu ft/s (3,700 m3/s)

The Lewis River is a tributary of the Columbia River, about 95 miles (153 km) long, in southwestern Washington in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range north of the Columbia River. The drainage basin of the Lewis River covers about 1,046 square miles (2,709 km2).[4] The river's mean annual discharge is about 6,125 cubic feet per second (173.4 m3/s).[5] Unlike nearby Lewis County and Fort Lewis the Lewis River was not named for Meriwether Lewis, but rather for A. Lee Lewis, an early colonizer who homesteaded near the mouth of the river.[6]

  1. ^ a b c "Lewis River". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey (USGS). October 10, 1979. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  2. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. ^ "Online Topographic Maps from the United States Geological Survey". TopoQuest. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Description: Lewis River Drainage, Mount St. Helens, Washington". United States Geological Survey. 1999. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (December 2004). "Volume II – Subbasin Plan Chapter G – NF and EF Lewis" (PDF). Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish & Wildlife Subbasin Plan. Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  6. ^ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.