Sauk River (Skagit River)

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Sauk River
Data
Water code US :  1525452
location Washington (State) , United States
River system Skagit River
Drain over Skagit River  → Puget Sound
origin The confluence of the North and South Fork Sauk Rivers at Bedal in Snohomish County
48 ° 5 ′ 59 ″  N , 121 ° 23 ′ 28 ″  W
muzzle in Skagit County in the Skagit River Coordinates: 48 ° 28 ′ 53 ″  N , 121 ° 36 ′ 20 ″  W 48 ° 28 ′ 53 ″  N , 121 ° 36 ′ 20 ″  W

length 72 km
South Fork Sauk River
Water code US :  1526243
location Snohomish County
source Glacier at Columbia Peak
47 ° 58 ′ 2 ″  N , 121 ° 21 ′ 56 ″  W

Flowing lakes Monte Cristo Lake
North Fork Sauk River
Water code US :  1523834
location Snohomish County
source Spring lake at Johnson Mountain in the Glacier Peak Wilderness
47 ° 59 ′ 29 ″  N , 121 ° 9 ′ 23 ″  W

The Sauk River is a tributary of the Skagit River , approximately 72 km long and is located in northwest Washington in the United States . It rises from the Cascade Range, in the Puget Sound catchment area , north of Seattle . The river is a famous fly fishing port and a National Wild and Scenic River .

Its two headwaters (North and South Fork) have their source in eastern Snohomish County , in the Glacier Peak Wilderness and form the main river at Bedal . From there, the river flows northwest across Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to Darrington , to flow south of Rockport into the Skagit River. Approx. 19 km east of Rockport it takes the Suiattle River , and before Darrington the White Chuck River and Clear Creek .

The name "Sauk" comes from Sah-kee-ma-hu (the Sauk-Suiattle tribe), a group not related to the Sauk , but to the Skagit tribes.

history

In 1890 gold prospectors embarked on expeditions north of the Skykomish River bed , which led to the gold boom at Monte Cristo , near the source of the North Fork. Due to the inaccessibility from the south, a narrow railway line was built along the Sauk River in 1891. The Sauk wagon road ran from Sauk City on the Skagit River to the mines of Monte Cristo. An important stop on the route was a trading post near Orient, near the headwaters of the Sauk River. This area is now known as Bedal . Today the Mountain Loop Highway follows more or less the same route as the old railway line.

South Fork Sauk River

The headwaters of the South Fork are located on a glacier on the northwest side of Columbia Peak . The river flows mainly through Seventysix Gulch to Monte Cristo , where it meets Glacier Creek. The South Fork continues to flow northwest until it meets Weden Creek and turns north. It flows east of the Barlow Pass, after which it continues to flow parallel to the Mountain Loop Highway. After a few kilometers it flows into Monte Cristo Lake . There are some campsites north of the lake along the river. Near Bedal Campground, the river joins the North Fork to form the actual Sauk River.

A relatively short and low ridge, the Barlow Pass, separates the Sauk River from Palmer Creek, a headwaters of the South Fork Stillaguamish River . The unusual geography, the environment, the size of the rivers and their valleys suggest that during the Pleistocene the Sauk River flowed through the Barlow Pass into what is now the Stillaguamish Valley.

Tributaries

  • Glacier Creek: flows into the South Fork at Monte Cristo.
  • Weden Creek: flows 3.7 km beyond Monte Cristo into the South Fork.
  • Elliot Creek: opens shortly after leaving Monte Cristo Lake.

North Fork Sauk River

The North Fork of Sauk River.

The North Fork, the larger of the two headwaters, begins at the exit of a small, nameless lake across from Blue Lake, near Johnson Mountain. Most of the way it flows in a north-westerly direction. Before it forms the Sauk River with the South Fork, it turns west and rushes through a gorge from which it emerges in an 18-meter-high waterfall. Shortly afterwards, he falls over other, smaller waterfalls. In the vicinity of the campsites it forms the Skagit River with the southern arm.

According to Fred Beckey , the source of the North Fork could be one of its tributaries, Cadet Creek, which flows into the North Fork via Sloan Creek .

Tributaries

  • Sloan Creek : Flows into the North Fork 2.1 miles off Lost Creek.
  • Cougar Creek : Comes from the eastern side of Bedal Peak, from Cougar Lake.
  • Lost Creek: Flows 3.5 miles from where it joins the North Fork.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Skagit Wild and Scenic River, Washington . The Wild & Scenic Rivers Council. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 22, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rivers.gov
  2. ↑ James W. Phillips: Washington State Place Names . University of Washington Press, 1971, ISBN 0-295-95158-3 .
  3. ↑ a b c Fred Beckey : Cascade Alpine Guide : Climbing and High Routes: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass , 3rd. Edition, The Mountaineers , 2003, ISBN 0-89886-423-2 , pp. 25-29.
  4. ↑ South Fork course information mainly acquired from USGS topographic maps accessed via South Fork Sauk River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey .
  5. ↑ a b North Fork Falls . Northwest Waterfall Survey. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  6. ^ Snohomish County Waterfalls . Snohomish County Tourism Bureau. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  7. ↑ North Fork course information mainly acquired from USGS topographic maps accessed via North Fork Sauk River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey and North Fork Falls in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey .