Nisqually River

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Nisqually River
I-5 crosses the Nisqually River near its mouth.

I-5 crosses the Nisqually River near its mouth.

Data
Water code US :  1533598
location Washington (USA)
River system Nisqually River
source Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier
46 ° 47 ′ 39 ″  N , 121 ° 44 ′ 54 ″  W.
Source height 1467  m 
muzzle Nisqually Reach, Puget Sound Coordinates: 47 ° 6 ′ 31 "  N , 122 ° 42 ′ 11"  W 47 ° 6 ′ 31 "  N , 122 ° 42 ′ 11"  W.
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 1467 m
Bottom slope 11 ‰
length 130 km
Catchment area 1,338 km² (McKenna, Wa.)
Drain MQ
 36.5 m³ / s
Right tributaries Mashel River
Reservoirs flowed through Alder Lake, La Grande Reservoir

The Nisqually River ( nɪskwɑːli ) is a 130 km long river in the west of the US state Washington .

It drains part of the Cascade Range southwest of Tacoma , including the southern flank of Mount Rainier, and flows into the Nisqually Reach of the Puget Sound .

Run

The river has its origins in the south of Mount Rainier National Park and is fed by Nisqually Glacier on the south side of Mount Rainier. It flows west along the border between Pierce Counties and Lewis Counties, and then flows northwest through the foothills of the mountains, forming the border between Pierce County and Thurston Counties . On the last 16 km of its course, it crosses the Nisqually Indian Reservation and flows into a branch of the Puget Sound about 24 km east-northeast of Olympia .

For the purpose of generating energy through hydropower , the river is dammed by the Alder and LaGrande reservoirs, which were completed in 1945 .

history

The Nisqually River is located in the traditional settlement area of ​​the Nisqually , who settled on the southern Puget Sound. The Medicine Creek Treaty , one of the most important treaties between the Washington area and the American indigenous peoples of the Puget Sound area, was signed near a creek near the river delta . After signing the contract, the Nisqually had to leave the river and most of its surroundings and settled on a reservation on Puget Sound east of Olympia. After the tribe had resisted for some time, including by their chief Leschi , a new reservation was established on the river. This was about three times the size of the original.

In 1917 the US Army occupied the reservation and forced the residents to work on the construction of Fort Lewis .

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Nisqually used their fishing rights on the river, which the Medicine Creek Treaty granted them but were ignored. Members of the tribe and the Puyallup were harassed and punished for fishing in their traditional tribal waters. This finally leads to the so-called Boldt decision in 1974 , with which all Indian tribes in Washington granted the right to half of the fish population within their ancestral fishing grounds.

Hydrography

The United States Geological Survey operates several gauges on the river . The catchment area of the river at its lowest level, 35 km above the mouth, covers about 1338 km². The mean annual runoff is based on measurements in the period 1948–1968 and 1978–2006 and is 36.5 m³ / s. The highest value observed there was around 1400 m³ / s on February 8 or 9, 1996 and is based on estimates of the water levels above; the lowest flow rate of around half a cubic meter per second was on September 10 and 11, 1965 and on Measured August 31, 1966.

However, some 7 km above this level, part of the river water is diverted via the Centralia Canal. At the La Grande gauge, about 34 km further upstream, the average discharge rate is 41 m³ / s, the highest discharge rate was 1120 m³ / s on February 8, 1996, no discharge was observed due to the damming at different times.

Tributaries

  • Muck Creek
  • Yelm Creek
  • Tanwax Creek
  • Ohop Creek
  • Mashel River
  • Little Nisqually River
  • East Creek
  • Mineral Creek
  • Big Creek

Cities and villages on the river

Web links

Commons : Nisqually River  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nisqually River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
  2. ↑ a b United States Geological Survey ; Nisqually River at McKenna, WA ; Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  3. ↑ Nisqually ; Nisqually Indian Tribe - History ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved February 6, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nisqually-nsn.gov
  4. ↑ United States Geological Survey . Nisqually River at La Grande, WA ; Retrieved February 6, 2008