Ohanapecosh River

Ohanapecosh River
Silver Falls on the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park
Ohanapecosh River is located in Washington (state)
Ohanapecosh River
Location of the mouth of the Ohanapecosh River in Washington
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesPierce, Lewis
Physical characteristics
SourceOhanapecosh Glacier
 • locationMount Rainier
 • coordinates46°50′0″N 121°39′26″W / 46.83333°N 121.65722°W / 46.83333; -121.65722[1]
 • elevation6,050 ft (1,840 m)[2]
MouthCowlitz River
 • coordinates
46°40′40″N 121°35′4″W / 46.67778°N 121.58444°W / 46.67778; -121.58444[1]
 • elevation
1,230 ft (370 m)[1]
Length16 mi (26 km)[3]
Basin size68.5 sq mi (177 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationUSGS gage 14224000 near Lewis, WA (historical: 1908-1912)[4]
 • average572.92 cu ft/s (16.223 m3/s)[4]
 • minimum58 cu ft/s (1.6 m3/s)
 • maximum7,500 cu ft/s (210 m3/s)

The Ohanapecosh River (/oʊˈhænəpɪkɒʃ/ oh-HAN-ə-pi-kosh[5]) (spelled as áwxanapayk-ash in the language of the Yakima Nation and Cowlitz Tribe[6][7]) is a 16-mile (26 km)[3] river in the U.S. state of Washington.

It is the main headwater tributary of the Cowlitz River, which begins at the confluence of the Ohanapecosh River and the Clear Fork Cowlitz River. The Ohanapecosh originates near Ohanapecosh Glacier on the southeast side of Mount Rainier. Most of the river is within Mount Rainier National Park. Its final reach is in Gifford Pinchot National Forest.[8]

Mount Rainier is the source of nine major rivers and their tributaries: the Nisqually, Puyallup, Mowich, Carbon, West Fork White, Huckleberry, White, Ohanapecosh, and Muddy Fork rivers. Of these only the Ohanapecosh and Huckleberry are non-glacial. All of these rivers empty into Puget Sound near Tacoma, Washington, except the Muddy Fork and Ohanapecosh, which flow into the Cowlitz River, a tributary of the Columbia River.[9]

The Ohanapecosh River is named for a Taidnapam (Upper Cowlitz) Indian habitation site along the river, meaning "standing at the edge-place".[7][10] The Washington Place Names database says the name may also mean "clear stream...deep blue...or deep blue holes".

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ohanapecosh River
  2. ^ Derived from Google Earth search using Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) source coordinates.
  3. ^ a b c "National Hydrography Dataset". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b "USGS gage 14224000 Ohanapecosh River near Lewis, WA". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  5. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  6. ^ "Anthropological Study of Yakama Tribe" (PDF). University of Washington.
  7. ^ a b "Cowlitz Tribe". www.cowlitz.org. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  8. ^ General course and elevation info from USGS topographic maps accessed via the "GNIS in Google Map" feature of the USGS Geographic Names Information System website
  9. ^ "Water Quality, Mount Rainier National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Ohanapecosh". National Park Service. Retrieved 4 September 2009.