Salmon River (Washington)

The Salmon River is a tributary of the Queets River in U.S. state of Washington.

Salmon River
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Jefferson
Physical characteristics
Source	Olympic Mountains
• coordinates	47°31′27″N 124°2′29″W[1]
Mouth	Queets River
• coordinates	47°33′21″N 124°13′12″W[1]
Length	18 mi (29 km)[2]
Basin size	56 sq mi (150 km2)
Discharge
• location	Queets River[3]
• average	288 cu ft/s (8.2 m3/s)[3]

The river flows roughly from east to south, with the North Fork Salmon River, Middle Fork Salmon River, South Fork Salmon River, combining to form the Salmon River, which empties into the Queets River. The river's length, including its longest source tributary, the Middle Fork, is 18 miles (29 km). The main stem Salmon River, below the North Fork, is about 13 miles (21 km) long.^[2] The Salmon's drainage basin is 56 square miles (150 km²) in area.^[4]

Geology

The North, Middle, and South Fork watersheds are composed of shale, and sandstone, both sedimentary rocks, while the watershed of the lower Salmon River is composed of "coastal piedmont consisting of porous, unconsolidated deposits of Olympic alpine glaciers, including gravels, sands, silts and clays."^[3]

Ecology

Map of the Salmon River watershed.

More than 80% of the watershed is covered by coniferous forests (including Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir), with the remainder being hardwood stands and unforested wetlands.^[3]

There is a hatchery on the river that breeds Coho salmon and Chinook salmon. Some number of hatchery Winter steelhead smolts are planted in the river every year.^[5] Sea-run cutthroat trout^[6] and Chinook salmon also inhabit the river.

See also

• List of rivers of Washington (state)