Puyallup River

This article is about the river. For other uses, see Puyallup.
Puyallup River
View of the Puyallup River between River Road and North Levee Road. The river separates Fife from Tacoma.
Map of the Puyallup River watershed
Puyallup River is located in Washington (state)
Puyallup River
Location of the mouth of the Puyallup River in Washington
Puyallup River is located in the United States
Puyallup River
Puyallup River (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountiesPierce
CitiesOrting, Puyallup, Tacoma
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Rainier
 • coordinates46°51′50″N 121°57′4″W / 46.86389°N 121.95111°W / 46.86389; -121.95111[1]
 • elevation2,280 ft (690 m)[2]
MouthPuget Sound
 • location
Commencement Bay
 • coordinates
47°16′10″N 122°25′42″W / 47.26944°N 122.42833°W / 47.26944; -122.42833[1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)[2]
Length45 mi (72 km)[3]
Basin size948 sq mi (2,460 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationPuyallup[4]
 • average3,313 cu ft/s (93.8 m3/s)[4]
 • minimum400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s)
 • maximum57,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • rightMowich River, Carbon River, White River

The Puyallup River (/pjuːˈæləp/ pyew-AL-əp) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About 45 miles (72 km) long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The river and its tributaries drain an area of about 948 square miles (2,460 km2) in Pierce County and southern King County.[5]

The river's watershed is the youngest in the Puget Sound region, having been formed from a series of lahars starting about 5,600 years ago.[6] The valley's 150,000 residents are at risk from future lahars. For this reason, the United States Geological Survey has installed a lahar warning system.

  1. ^ a b "Pulyallup River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
  3. ^ Puyallup River Archived 2005-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America
  4. ^ a b c Puyallup and White River Basins, Water Resource Data, Washington, 2005, USGS.
  5. ^ Knoblach, David A. (2000) [1999]. "Flood Control along the Lower Puyallup River". Retrieved 2006-09-09.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Salmon and the Puyallup/White and Chambers/Clover Creek Watersheds". Shared Strategy for Puget Sound. April 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2006-09-09.