Deschutes River (Washington)

The Deschutes River is a 50-mile-long (80 km) river in Washington, United States. Its source is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Lewis County, and it empties into Budd Inlet of Puget Sound at Olympia in Thurston County. It was given its name by French fur traders, who called it Rivière des Chutes, or "River of the Falls", a translation of the First Nations name for the site. (The city of Tumwater, founded in the same location, takes its name from another translation for "waterfall", this one in Chinook Jargon.)

Deschutes River
Tumwater Falls of the Deschutes River, Tumwater, Washington
Location of the mouth of the Deschutes River in Washington
Deschutes River (Washington) (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyThurston, Lewis
Physical characteristics
SourceCascade Range
 • coordinates46°41′0″N 122°26′17″W[1]
MouthPuget Sound
 • coordinates
47°1′6″N 122°54′13″W[1]
Length50 mi (80 km)
Basin size162 sq mi (420 km2)[2]
Discharge 
 • locationriver mile 2.4 at Tumwater[2]
 • average396 cu ft/s (11.2 m3/s)[2]
 • minimum48 cu ft/s (1.4 m3/s)
 • maximum8,150 cu ft/s (231 m3/s)

A brewery was located there from 1896 until Prohibition. The Olympia Brewing Company bought the brewery after Prohibition ended in 1933. (Today it is owned by SABMiller, but is no longer operational.)

The river has numerous parks along it, including Pioneer Park and Tumwater Falls Park. A popular tubing stretch runs from Pioneer Park to Tumwater Falls.

Tributaries include Spurgeon Creek, Thurston Creek and Lake Lawrence.[3]

See also
  • List of rivers of Washington

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Deschutes River
  2. "Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005; Deschutes and Nisqually River Basins; 12080010 Deschutes River at E Street Bridge, at Tumwater, WA" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. East Olympia, Vail, and Lake Lawrence, Washington 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1959



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