The Hoquiam River is a stream 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. It has three main tributaries, the East Fork, West Fork, and Middle Fork Hoquiam Rivers. The main stem Hoquiam River is formed by the confluence of the West and East Forks. The Middle Fork is a tributary of the West Fork.
Most of the river's
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
lies within the
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser () is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company also manufactures wood products. It operates as a real e ...
Twin Harbors Tree Farm.
The City of
Hoquiam owns of the watershed, including reservoirs on Davis Creek and the West Fork Hoquiam River. This reserve system serves as the source to meet Hoquiam's municipal water needs.
Along with neighboring watersheds, the Hoquiam River flows through one of the most biomass-productive zones in the world and an important forestry region. Most of the original and second-growth forests have been cut.
Douglas-fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three ...
plantations have been established through the area.
[
Its name comes from a Native American word meaning "hungry for wood", so named from the great amount of driftwood at the mouth of the river.
]
Course
The Hoquiam River rises in Grays Harbor County
Grays Harbor County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,636. Its county seat is Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. Grays Harbor County is included in the Aberdeen Micropolitan ...
. It flows generally south to Hoquiam, where it empties into Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels flood ...
, an estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
of the Pacific Ocean. The river has several significant tributaries, including the North, East, and Middle Forks, the Little Hoquiam River, and the North Fork Little Hoquiam River. These various tributaries unite near the coast, making the main stem Hoquiam River fairly short, relative to its tributaries.
The East, West, and Middle Forks all originate north of Grays Harbor and flow generally south. The East Fork Hoquiam River is the longest, at long. It joins the West Fork to form the main stem Hoquiam River near Hoquiam and Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...
.U.S. Route 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 R ...
. It joins the East Fork form the main stem Hoquiam River. The Middle Fork is a tributary of the West Fork.[General course info mainly 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.
Natural history
The Hoquiam River and its tributaries support runs of Chinook, chum
Chum may refer to:
Broadcasting
* CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company
* CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company
* CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station
* CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station
* CHUM Chart, a C ...
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 n ...
, 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 an ...
, and sea-run 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 ...
. Barriers such as culverts have been removed or replaced in recent years, allowing fish to migrate upstream farther and more easily.
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 (Briti ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Washington (state)
Rivers of Grays Harbor County, Washington