The Cle Elum River is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam Nat ...

, approximately 28 miles (45 km) long 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 ...

. A

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

station at the future site of the city of

Cle Elum, Washington Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,872 at the 2010 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. History Native history Cle Elum wa ...

was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tie-el-Lum, meaning "swift water", referring to the Cle Elum River. In 1908, Clealum was altered to Cle Elum. This spelling came to be used for the river as well. Some maps in the 1850s also have the river labeled as ''Samahma'' River.

Course

The river originates in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

near

Mount Daniel Mount Daniel is the highest summit on the Cascade Range crest of Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the central Washington, USA. It is the highest point in King and Kittitas counties. Streams on its eastern slopes form the headwaters of the Cle Elum ...

and flows generally south, through Hyas Lake. The river is joined by many tributary streams including Waptus River and Cooper River draining from Cooper Lake, after which it enters

Cle Elum Lake Cle Elum Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of the Cle Elum River, in Washington state USA. At the site of the future city of Cle Elum, Washington, a Northern Pacific Railway station was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tle-el-Lu ...

. Although a natural lake, Cle Elum Lake's water level and discharge is controlled by Cle Elum Dam, a 165-foot (50 m) high earthfill structure built in 1933. The dam and lake are managed for irrigation purposes by the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

as part of the Yakima Project.Yakima Project
,

. Below the dam, Cle Elum River continues south to join the Yakima River on the west side of the city of Cle Elum.

References

Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Kittitas County, Washington Tributaries of the Yakima River {{Washington-river-stub

Course

See also

References