The Bogachiel River () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. It originates near Bogachiel Peak, flows west through the mountains of

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

. After emerging from the park it joins the

Sol Duc River The Sol Duc River (also spelled Soleduck) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it flows west through the northwest part of the Olympic Peninsula, from the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, ...

, forming the

Quillayute River The Quillayute River (also spelled Quileute River) is a river situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It empties to the Pacific Ocean at La Push, Washington. The Quillayute River is formed by the confluence of the Bogachiel River, Cal ...

, which empties into the Pacific Ocean near

La Push, Washington La Push is a small unincorporated community situated at the mouth of the Quillayute River in Clallam County, Washington, United States. La Push is the largest community within the Quileute Indian Reservation, which is home to the federally recogni ...

. The Quillayute River system, with its main tributaries of the Bogachiel, Sol Duc, Calawah, and

Dickey River The Dickey River is a stream on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It has three main forks, the East Fork, West Fork, and Middle Fork Dickey Rivers. The main stem is formed by the confluence of the East and West Forks. The rive ...

s, drains the largest watershed on the north Olympic Peninsula. The name "Bogachiel" is a corruption of the

Quileute The Quileute , are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, currently numbering approximately 2,000. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''. The Quileute peop ...

words ''bo qwa tcheel el'', or ''/boqʷač'íʔl/'', from ''/bó:q'ʷa/'', "muddy", and ''/číʔlowa/'', "water", meaning "gets riley urbidafter a rain", "muddy waters", or, less likely, "big river".

Course

The Bogachiel River begins in several headwater streams near Bogachiel Peak in the

Olympic Wilderness Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

of Olympic National Park, in the northwest part of the Olympic Peninsula. Flowing west through a deep valley just north of the

Hoh River The Hoh River is a river of the Pacific Northwest, located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, the Hoh River originates at the Hoh Glacier on Mount Olympus and flows west through the Olympic Mountains of Olymp ...

valley, it gathers various mountain streams, including one of its main tributaries, the North Fork Bogachiel River. Below the North Fork confluence, the Bogachiel River flows along the boundary between

Clallam County Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 78,209 in 2021. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles; the county as a whole comprises the ...

and Jefferson County, crossing and recrossing the line many times. After gathering many more tributary streams, such as Tunwata Creek and Hades Creek, it leaves Olympic National Park. Skirting the edge of the

Olympic National Forest Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferso ...

, the river turns northwest, passing through

Bogachiel State Park Bogachiel State Park is a public recreation area on the Bogachiel River south of the city of Forks on Highway 101 in Clallam County, Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the cap ...

U.S. Highway 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

follows the river for several miles. Just west of the city of

Forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...

the Calawah River joins the Bogachiel. Forks is situated between the two rivers and takes its name from the forking streams. Below the Calawah confluence the Bogachiel River widens considerably and takes a meandering course westward through a broad valley. The Sol Duc River enters this valley from the north, and the two streams meander alongside one another for several miles before joining. The Quillayute River, formed by the confluence, flows west for only about six miles more before reaching the Pacific Ocean at La Push. In its lower reach the Quillayute River enters the coastal wilderness of Olympic National Park. The mouth of the Quillayute is contained within the

Quileute Indian Reservation The Quileute Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Quileute people located on the northwestern Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The reservation is at the mouth of the Quillayute River on the Pacific coas ...

Natural history

The upper Bogachiel River valley contains

temperate rain forest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Paci ...

s, similar to the

Hoh Rain Forest Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S., located on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It includes of low elevation forest along the Hoh River. The Hoh River valley was formed thousands of years ag ...

of the Hoh River valley.

Recreation

A large portion of the Bogachiel River is in the wilderness of Olympic National Park. The Bogachiel Trail, beginning a few miles outside the park, follows the Bogachiel River to the North Fork Bogachiel, then follows that river valley up into the high mountains, connecting to other trails that lead north to the Sol Duc River valley and south to the Hoh River valley. The Bogachiel River, along with the Quillayute's other tributaries, are popular for fishing. The rivers hosts healthy stocks of wild winter

steelhead 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 N ...

(the

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

form of coastal rainbow trout) with as many as 19,000 fish returning in some years and up to 50,000 hatchery raised steelhead. The river also supports large runs of Chinook and

coho salmon 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 i ...

and holds resident populations of

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

and Dolly Varden. Unlike many other large rivers of the Olympic Peninsula, the headwaters of the Bogachiel and the other Quillayute tributaries are not glacier-fed. As a result, they do not experience a spring and summer flood pulse with heavy sediment loads. This gives the Bogachiel River a longer fishing season.Fish-related info from:

References

External links

Bogachiel River Trail
National Park Service
Bogachiel State Park
Washington State Parks {{authority control Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Clallam County, Washington Rivers of Jefferson County, Washington

Course

Natural history

Recreation

See also

References

External links