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 th ...
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 sove ...
of
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 in the foothills on the southwest side of the
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easte ...
and empties into the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
.USGS topographic maps accessed via https://mapper.acme.com The name "Copalis" comes from the
Quinault language
Quinault (''Kʷínaył'') is a member of the Tsamosan (Olympic) branch of the Coast Salish family of Salishan languages
The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian p ...
term /k'ʷpíls/. The Copalises are a Native American group. Both the
Chehalis people
The Chehalis people or Tsihalis are a native people of western Washington state in the United States. They should not be confused with the similarly named Chehalis First Nation of the Sts'Ailes people along the Harrison River in the Fraser Valley ...
and
Quinault Indian Nation
The Quinault Indian Nation ( or ; QIN), formerly known as the Quinault Tribe of the Quinault Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Quinault, Queets, Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz peoples.
Course
The Copalis River originates in the southwestern portion of the Olympic Peninsula a few miles south of the
Quinault Reservation
The Quinault Indian Nation ( or ; QIN), formerly known as the Quinault Tribe of the Quinault Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Quinault, Queets, Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz peoples.Humptulips River
The Humptulips River is a river in Grays Harbor County, Washington, in the United States. Its main tributaries are the East Fork Humptulips River, about long (32 km), and West Fork Humptulips River, about long (48 km). After the forks ...
. It flows southwest for about to the Pacific Ocean, emptying into the ocean at
Copalis Beach
Copalis Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 415 at the 2010 census.
The name "Copalis" comes from the Quinault language term /k'ʷpíls/. The Copalis are a Native Ameri ...
in
Griffiths-Priday State Park
Griffiths-Priday State Park (formerly Griffiths-Priday Ocean State Park) is a state-operated, public recreation area at the mouth of the Copalis River on the Pacific Ocean in Grays Harbor County, Washington. The park has beach, low dunes, and ...
. At its mouth, the river is bordered by the Copalis spit, a small peninsula that serves as refuge for migratory birds.
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 ...