Chiwawa River

The Chiwawa River is a tributary of the Wenatchee River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Chelan County.

Chiwawa River
Location of the mouth of the Chiwawa River in Washington
Chiwawa River (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyChelan
Physical characteristics
SourceNorth Cascades
 • locationEntiat Mountains
 • coordinates48°9′11″N 120°55′2″W[1]
 • elevation6,300 ft (1,900 m)[2]
MouthWenatchee River
 • coordinates
47°47′18″N 120°39′32″W[1]
 • elevation
1,844 ft (562 m)[2]
Length37 mi (60 km)[3]
Basin size183 sq mi (470 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationnear mouth[4]
 • average509 cu ft/s (14.4 m3/s)[4]
 • minimum45 cu ft/s (1.3 m3/s)
 • maximum7,030 cu ft/s (199 m3/s)

Much of the Chiwawa River's drainage basin is designated national forest and wilderness. The upper Chiwawa watershed is in nearly pristine condition.[3]

The river is part of the Columbia River basin, being a tributary of the Wenatchee River, which is tributary to the Columbia River.

The river's name comes from a Columbia-Moses term meaning of kind of creek ("wawa" creek).[5] A large number of place names in the Chiwawa River basin were given by Albert H. Sylvester.

Course

The Chiwawa River originates in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades, on the southern slopes of Chiwawa Mountain and Fortress Mountain. It flows south through the Wenatchee National Forest, between Chiwawa Ridge to the west and the Entiat Mountains to the east.

The Chiwawa River empties into the Wenatchee River several miles east of Lake Wenatchee.

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chiwawa River, USGS, GNIS
  2. Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
  3. Wenatchee Subbasin Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
  4. Water Resources Data, Washington Water year 2005, USGS
  5. Bright, William (2007). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.
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