The Nooksack River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in western Whatcom County of the northwestern U.S. state 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 on ...

, draining extensive valley systems within the North Cascades around Mount Shuksan,

Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...

and the Twin Sisters, and a portion of Fraser Lowland south of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. The river ''proper'' begins with the merging of three main

tributaries 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 b ...

, namely the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork, near Deming. All three forks originate in the

Mount Baker Wilderness Mount Baker Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the western Cascade Range of northern Washington state. Its eastern border is shared with the boundary of the Stephen Mather Wilderness and North Ca ...

, and the North Fork, the longest of the three, is sometimes considered the main river. The Nooksack is approximately in total length measuring from the North Fork

headwater The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

s. The lower Nooksack flows as a northerly loop through the fertile southern Fraser Lowland

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

area before emptying into Bellingham Bay and, via the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

, communicating with 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 continen ...

Course

North Fork

The North Fork Nooksack River rises at the

Nooksack Cirque Nooksack Cirque is in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington, on the eastern slopes of Mount Shuksan. Nooksack Cirque was formed by glaciers and the East Nooksack Glacier is located in the cirque below the headwall known as '' ...

east of Mount Shuksan within the western part of

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...

in central Whatcom County. Gathering

meltwater Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be ...

off

East Nooksack Glacier East Nooksack Glacier is in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington, on the eastern slopes of Mount Shuksan. East Nooksack Glacier is only , but fills the upper portions of the Nooksack Cirque, spanning more than . East Nooksa ...

, it flows generally west past north of

. For most of its course, this fork is paralleled by State Route 542 (also called the Mount Baker Highway). The river picks up large creeks such as Price Creek, a short creek draining Price Lake; as well as Ruth Creek, before the uppermost highway bridge crosses it. At

Nooksack Falls Nooksack Falls is a waterfall along the North Fork of the Nooksack River in Whatcom County, Washington. The water flows through a narrow valley and drops freely 88 feet into a deep rocky river canyon. The falls are viewable from the forested cove ...

, the river flows through a narrow valley and drops freely into a deep rocky river canyon. The falls are viewable from the forested cover near the cliff edge. A small

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

nearby contains a kiosk with information about the falls and a hydroelectric project. Continuing west, the North Fork receives several tributaries including

Wells Creek Wells Creek is a swift creek in Whatcom County, Washington. It is a tributary of the Nooksack River, joining the river just below Nooksack Falls. It is best known for having six major waterfalls along its course. Wells Creek was named for Ham ...

, which joins the river at the base of the falls, and Glacier Creek and Canyon Creek, before the river turns briefly south. The Middle Fork and South Fork join the North Fork within a few miles of one another. The Middle Fork joins first, with its confluence opposite

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. In some context ...

. The South Fork joins just southeast of Deming and the Nooksack Indian Reservation, creating the Nooksack River ''proper''. The traditional name of the North Fork in the

Nooksack language The Nooksack language (''Lhéchalosem'', or ''Lhéchelesem'') is a Salishan language spoken by the Nooksack people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It comes from the area now known as northwestern Washington (state) in Whatcom County, United Stat ...

is ''Chuw7álich'' ("the next point").

Middle Fork

The Middle Fork Nooksack River, about long, originates on the southern slopes of Mount Baker near Baker Pass. It flows generally northwest between Mount Baker and Twin Sisters, and drains into the North Fork opposite

, about northeast of the confluence between the North and South Forks. The traditional name of the Middle Fork in the

is ''Nuxwt’íqw’em'' ("always-murky water").

South Fork

The South Fork Nooksack River, about long, rises in southern Whatcom County, east of Twin Sisters Mountain near Bell Pass and Lake Wiseman. It flows briefly south, entering Skagit County, then northwest to re-enter Whatcom County. It flows past the town of

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

, and due north until merging with the North Fork near the State Route 9 bridge, southeast of Deming and the Nooksack Indian Reservation. The traditional name of the South Fork in the

is ''Nuxw7íyem'' ("always-clear water").

Nooksack ''proper''

Glacier Creek and the North Fork of the Nooksack River

After the Middle and South Forks join, the combined river flows northwest, emerging from the valley south of the

Sumas Mountain Sumas Mountain is a mountain located in Whatcom County, Washington, 15 miles northeast of Bellingham and southwest of Vedder Mountain. Located in the Skagit Range, the mountain is notable for its high biodiversity and year-round hiking trails. ...

and flowing past Everson and Lynden. Near Everson, the river is at risk of floods breaching the right bank, allowing flow into lower lands to the north, through

Sumas River The Sumas River is a river in the Fraser Lowland and a tributary of the Fraser River river system, system, coursing across the Canada–United States border, international border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province o ...

and into Canada. At Lynden the river turns southwest and, near Ferndale, south. Its mouth is at the north side of Bellingham Bay at the

Lummi Indian Reservation The Lummi ( ; Lummi: ''Xwlemi'' ; also known as Lhaq'temish (), or ''People of the Sea''), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. They are based in the coastal area of the Pacific No ...

, approximately west of Bellingham.

River modifications

The river supplies the nearby town of

Glacier, Washington Glacier is a census-designated place in the Nooksack River#North_Fork, North Fork Nooksack River Valley, at an elevation of 906 ft., just 10 miles northwest of the Mount Baker Summit towering nearly 10,000 ft above it, in Whatcom County, Washington ...

with hydroelectric power from a dam on the North Fork near Nooksack Falls. The Middle Fork was partially blocked with a diversion dam built by the City of Bellingham in the late 1950s for diverting water into Lake Whatcom, which supplies the city's drinking water. As of July 2020, this old water diversion system has been modified to remove the dam and restore the river channel for the benefit of critical salmon spawning habitat. In the late 19th century, most of the stream flow of the Nooksack River near its mouth flowed through the present channel of the short

Lummi River The Lummi River is the current name for a river channel that was, prior to the beginning of the 20th century, the main outflow channel for the Nooksack River. It then emptied into Lummi Bay rather than Bellingham Bay, as the current channel of the ...

to Lummi Bay, northwest of Bellingham Bay. Near the start of the 20th century, a log jam plugged the channel to Lummi Bay, forcing the river to change its channel to the present one. The accumulation of the new river delta has been an ongoing field of research regarding the new

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s it has created. The river only resupplies the previous delta on Lummi Bay during high-flow conditions.

Floods

The river is subject to flooding due to high rainfall amounts in the region and some of the deepest snow packs in the country. The Pineapple Express, a weather pattern that brings central Pacific wind and rain to the northwest, can sometimes catalyze flooding. For example, flooding in Everson occurred 14 times from to 1936 to 2003. Specific examples of floods are: * In November 1990, flooding caused over $20 million in damage and the closure of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

for 26 hours. * In November 1995, flooding caused $4 million in damage in Whatcom County. * During a November 2006storm, the river flooded the city of Everson. * In November and December 2021, water from the Nooksack River filled the

Sumas Prairie Sumas Prairie is a landform in British Columbia, Canada and the State of Washington, United States. Part of the Fraser Lowland, it was created by the draining of Sumas Lake early in the 20th Century, and extends from the Vedder Canal southwestwar ...

in Canada's Fraser Valley. This resulted in evacuations because of a landslide, $1 billion in damage in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

, and further damage elsewhere. Both the USA and Canada have faced long-term political hurdles to adequate flood prevention. "On the Washington side, there has been a reluctance to spend money to benefit Canada", and on the Canadian side, " B.C. has been reluctant to use the International Joint Commission following a 1988 report that resulted in the cancellation of the Sage Creek coal mine on the Flathead River".

References

{{authority control Lynden, Washington Nooksack Rivers of Washington (state) Geography of Bellingham, Washington Rivers of Whatcom County, Washington