The Baker River is an approximately ,
southward-flowing tributary of the
Skagit River
The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000& ...
in northwestern
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It drains an area of the high
North Cascades
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Casca ...
in the watershed of
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
north of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, and east of
Mount Baker
Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...
. With a
watershed of approximately in a complex of deep valleys partially inside
North Cascades National Park, it is the last major tributary of the Skagit before the larger river reaches its mouth on
Skagit Bay
Skagit Bay is a bay and strait located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Whidbey Island Basin of Puget Sound. The Skagit River empties into Skagit Bay. To the south, Skagit Bay connects with the rest of Puget Sound via Saratoga ...
. The river flows through
Concrete, Washington, near its mouth and has two hydroelectric dams owned by
Puget Sound Energy.
Course
The Baker River rises in the Cascade Range near
Whatcom Peak, in the northern section of
North Cascades National Park. It flows south, starting in the Baker River Valley north-east of
Mount Shuksan
Mount Shuksan is a glaciated massif in the North Cascades National Park. Shuksan rises in Whatcom County, Washington immediately to the east of Mount Baker, and south of the Canada–US border. The mountain's name ''Shuksan'' is derived from t ...
. The river flows generally southwest through a steep glacial valley, receiving several short glacial-fed tributaries from surrounding mountains. Many of these tributaries harbor tall, but never officially measured waterfalls. Most of the southern half of the river is impounded in artificial lakes, both part of the . The first reservoir is -long
Baker Lake, impounded by
Upper Baker Dam. (The lake was formerly a natural lake, until its level was raised by the -high dam.)
Lake Shannon
Lake Shannon is a long, narrow reservoir on the Baker River in Skagit County, Washington in the United States. Formed in the 1920s by the construction of an arch dam just above the town of Concrete, the lake is approximately long and averages w ...
, impounded by
Lower Baker Dam, begins immediately below Baker Lake and stretches about downstream. Below Lower Baker Dam the Baker River flows unimpeded (except for a small weir at a fish passage station) for about a mile before emptying into the Skagit River.
Most of Baker Lake is in the
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
. Upper Baker Dam is located in
Whatcom County
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan ...
and Lower Baker Dam is located in
Skagit County
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Ind ...
above the town of
Concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
. Both dams are owned by
Puget Sound Energy.
Natural history
Baker River sockeye are the only known sustaining population of
Sockeye salmon in the Skagit River drainage basin. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has determined the Baker River sockeye to be genetically distinct from other sockeye salmon. As of 1992 the condition of the population was listed as "critical". In 1985 only 92 adults were found to return to the river.
Since the 1990s, however, the population has recovered somewhat, in part due to improvements in the smolt trapping and transportation system. 20,235 fish were counted in 2003
and since 2010, the numbers have been between 10,000 & 30,000 fish counted per year. The WDFW and others' models predicted a run size for Baker sockeye of 46,268 in 2015.
Before Lower Baker Dam was built in 1925 the fish had free access to the river and natural (pre-dammed) Baker Lake. The annual sockeye run at that time was estimated to be approximately 20,000 fish. Artificial enhancement began in 1896 when the State of Washington constructed a hatchery on Baker Lake. This was the first establishment for the hatching of sockeye salmon. The hatchery closed in 1933. The construction of Upper Baker Dam in 1959 inundated the natural Baker Lake and surrounding valley, including the spawning grounds of the Baker River sockeye. Artificial spawning beds were constructed at the upper end of the new Baker Lake. An additional spawning beach was built on Sulfur Creek in 1990. All returning sockeye are trapped below Lower Baker Dam and transported to the artificial spawning beaches.
[
The Baker River also supports other anadromous salmonids such as ]coho
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...
(Oncorhynchus kisutch),[ chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), ]pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
(Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon, winter– and summer–run steelhead trout
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) and sea-run cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki).
Tributaries
Tributaries of the Baker are listed proceeding upstream. L and R denote left and right bank, respectively:
* Thunder Creek (L)
* Bear Creek
* Rocky Creek (R)
* Sulphur Creek (R)
* Anderson Creek
* Sandy Creek (R)
* Park Creek (R)
* Swift Creek (R)
** Morovitz Creek
* Shannon Creek (R)
* Shuksan Lake Creek (R)
* Blum Creek Blum Creek is a small glacial tributary of the Baker River in Washington state, in the United States. It is sourced from the Hagan Glacier and another unnamed glacier on the north face of Mount Blum, and flows approximately from there to its mo ...
(L)
* Sulphide Creek (R)
* Bald Eagle Creek
* Pass Creek
* Picket Creek (L)
* Mineral Creek
See also
* List of rivers of Washington
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Washington.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin. Respective tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name and are ordered downstream to upstream.
Fraser River (Britis ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Washington (state)
North Cascades of Washington (state)
Rivers of Whatcom County, Washington
Rivers of Skagit County, Washington