The Methow 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
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
in northern
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 on ...
in the United States. 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 ...
drains the eastern
North Cascades
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascad ...
, with a population of about 5,000 people. The Methow's watershed is characterized by relatively pristine habitats, as much of the river basin is located in national forests and wildernesses. Many tributaries drain the large
Pasayten Wilderness
The Pasayten Wilderness is a protected area located within Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington state, centered on the Three Forks () of the Pasayten River, a tributary of the Similkameen River. Al ...
. An earlier economy based on agriculture is giving way to one based on recreation and tourism.
History
The river was named after the
Methow Native Americans (today part of the Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the northwest United States, in north central Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is federally recognized.
Established in ...
). The name "Methow" comes from the
Okanagan
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...
placename ''/mətxʷú/'', meaning "sunflower (seeds)".
The Native American name for the river was ''Buttlemuleemauch'', meaning "salmon falls river". In 1841 the
Wilkes Expedition
The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...
named the river "Barrier River".
Alexander Ross said the native name was Buttle-mule-emauch. In 1811
David Thompson met the tribe living along the river and wrote their name as Smeetheowe. In 1853 George Gibbs called the river Methow or Barrier.
Course
The Methow River, along with its tributaries the Twisp River, Cedar Creek, and Early Winters Creek, originates in a cluster of high mountains including
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
,
Tower Mountain,
Cutthroat Peak
Cutthroat Peak is an 8,050-foot-elevation (2,450-meter) granitic mountain located on the boundary of Chelan County and Skagit County, in Washington state.
The mountain is part of the Okanagan Range which is a subset of the Cascade Range, and ...
,
Snagtooth Ridge
Snagtooth Ridge
is a jagged granitic ridge located in Okanogan County of Washington state. It is part of the Methow Mountains which is a sub-range of the North Cascades. Snagtooth Ridge is situated between Silver Star Mountain and Kangaroo R ...
,
Kangaroo Ridge,
Early Winters Spires
The Early Winters Spires are two rock formations in the Liberty Bell Group of the North Cascade Range, set between Liberty Bell Mountain and Blue Lake Peak in Washington state, United States. The two spires (North and South) are virtually one ...
, and
Liberty Bell Mountain
Liberty Bell Mountain is located in the North Cascades, Washington (state), State of Washington, United States, approximately one mile south of Washington Pass on the North Cascades Highway. Liberty Bell is the most northern spire of the Liberty ...
. Several mountain passes are associated with the Methow River and its tributaries, such as Methow Pass and Twisp Pass.
State Route 20 utilizes
Washington Pass
Washington Pass (el. 5477 ft./1669 m.) and Rainy Pass (el. 4875 ft./1486 m.) are two mountain passes on State Route 20 (North Cascades Highway) in the North Cascades mountains of Washington state. Rainy Pass is about 4 miles to the ...
and
Rainy Pass
Rain is water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor and then Precipitation, fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsib ...
, also in the general areas of headwater streams.
The
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
follows the uppermost reach of the Methow River, until the river turns east, flowing into the Methow Valley near
Mazama. Along the way, it collects the tributary streams of Robinson Creek and Lost River. In the Methow Valley, between Mazama and
Winthrop, the Methow River is joined by Early Winters Creek, Cedar Creek, Goat Creek, and Wolf Creek. The
Chewuch River
The Chewuch River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington.
Its name comes from the word ''/cwáx/'' wáxin the Columbia-Moses language meaning "creek".
The river valley was also the site of the Thirty Mile Fire which killed four fire fighte ...
joins at Winthrop. One of the Methow's larger tributaries, the Chewuch River, and its many tributaries drain large parts of the Pasayten Wilderness to the north. One of its headwater streams, Cathedral Creek, reaches nearly to
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
The Methow Valley continues below Winthrop to
Twisp
Twisp is a town in Okanogan County in north central Washington, which sits at the confluence of the Twisp and Methow rivers. The population was 938 at the time of the 2000 census and decreased to 919 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
On ...
, where the Methow River is joined by another important tributary, the
Twisp River
The Twisp River is a tributary of the Methow River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is about 26 miles (42 km) long. The name of the river comes from the Okanagan placename xwə́c’p perhaps meaning "wasp" or "yellowjacket".
Course
The ...
. Flowing from the west, the Twisp River drains the mountains south of Washington Pass as well as the eastern slopes of Sawtooth Ridge, a major mountain range with some of Washington state's highest peaks (such as Star Peak and Mt Bigelow).
Downriver from Twisp, the Methow River passes by the communities of Carlton and Methow, receiving several minor tributaries, before joining the Columbia River at
Pateros
Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros ( tgl, Bayan ng Pateros), is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people.
This municipality is famous for its duck-rai ...
. This part of the Columbia is the impoundment of
Wells Dam
Wells Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam located on the Columbia River, downstream from the confluence of the Okanogan River, Methow River, and the Columbia River in Washington state. The dam, associated structures, and machinery make up the ...
, a lake known as
Lake Pateros
Lake Pateros is a reservoir on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. It was created in 1967 with the construction of Wells Dam. The reservoir lies almost entirely in Douglas and Okanogan counties, although the dam itself lies partial ...
.
Ecology and conservation
In
Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Places ...
(a 1989
Stevens decision) the
Rehnquist Court
The Rehnquist Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States during which William Rehnquist served as Chief Justice. Rehnquist succeeded Warren Burger as Chief Justice after the latter's retirement, and Rehnquist ...
concluded
Since 2007, the
Methow Beaver Project Methow may refer to:
* Methow (tribe), a Native American tribe
* Methow, Washington
* Methow River
The Methow River ( ) is a tributary of the Columbia River in northern Washington in the United States. The river's watershed drains the eastern No ...
has translocated over 240 "problem"
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
(''Castor canadensis'') into 51 suitable sites in various headwater tributaries of the Methow watershed. The sites were selected using satellite imagery and computer modeling. Translocation success was optimized by putting pairs of beavers together in man-made lodges that tended to keep them in the desired sites so that the beaver ponds would store rainwater, trap sediment and repair channel incision/erosion, serve as nurseries for
salmonid
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...
s and other species, and act as firebreaks in the fire-prone eastern Cascades. One beaver that was
PIT (passive integrated transponder) tagged and released in the upper part of the Methow Valley swam to the mouth of the Methow River, then up the
Okanogan River
The Okanogan River (known as the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called th ...
almost to the Canada–US border, a journey of . The Methow Beaver Project is a partnership between the
U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
, the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is a department of the government of the state of Washington, United States of America. The WDFW manages over a million acres of land, the bulk of which is generally open to the public, and mor ...
and the
.
Beaver were nearly exterminated in the Methow watershed by the early 1900s by fur trappers.
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 ...
*
Tributaries of the Columbia River
Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically listed in order from the mouth of the Columbia River upstream. Major dams and reservoir lakes are also noted.
List of major tributaries
The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from t ...
*
Methow, Washington
Methow ( ), is an unincorporated community in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The community had a population of 262 at the 2000 census.
History
Methow was founded in 1889 by W.A. Bolinger when he moved his store from the former min ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Washington (state)
Tributaries of the Columbia River
Rivers of Okanogan County, Washington
Valleys of Washington (state)