The Dickey River is a stream on 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 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 has three main forks, the East Fork, West Fork, and Middle Fork Dickey Rivers. The
main stem
In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...
is formed by the confluence of the East and West Forks. The river and its forks rise in the northwestern part of the Olympic Peninsula and flow generally south and west to join the
Quillayute River near its mouth on 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 ...
.
[General course info from USGS topographic maps accessed via the "GNIS in Google Map" feature of the USGS ]Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
website.
The river's name 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 peo ...
term ''dichoh dock-teacer'' or ''de tho date t doh'', pronounced "dā tȯ dȯtch't dōh". This term was applied to the river and a branch of the tribe living along the river. It meant "people who live on the first branch of the Quillayute River" or "people who live on the dark water".
East Fork
The East Fork Dickey River is approximately long and originates at , in the northwestern Olympic Peninsula. It flows generally south collecting tributaries such as Skunk Creek and Thunder Creek before joining the West Fork to form the main stem Dickey River.
[
]
West Fork
The West Fork Dickey River is just over long and originates at , as the outflow of Dickey Lake. The lake is fed by a number of streams such as Stampedge Creek, Ponds Creek, and Sands Creek. The West Fork Dickey River exits the south end of Dickey Lake and soon collects the Middle Fork Dickey River. Shortly below the joining of the tributary include Squaw Creek the West Fork joins the East Fork to form the main stem Dickey River.[
]
Middle Fork
The Middle Fork Dickey River originates at ,[
]
Main stem
The main stem Dickey River originates at the confluence of the East and West Forks and flows generally south for approximately . Along the way it collects tributaries including Larger Creek, Cotby Creek, and Coat Creek. It flows by the Quillayute State Airport. The Dickey River empties into the Quillayute River about a mile north of La Push
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 recog ...
and the mouth of the Quillayute River. The confluence of the Dickey and Quillayute Rivers occurs within the narrow coastal strip 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 ...
.[
]
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
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Rivers of Washington (state)
Rivers of Clallam County, Washington