The Rapid 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

Beckler River The Beckler River is a tributary of the South Fork Skykomish River in the U.S. state of Washington in the United States. The Beckler River originates near Jack Pass and flows southeast about where it is joined by the Rapid River, its principa ...

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 sover ...

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. It is long,

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GIS A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

data viewer. with a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of .

data viewer. The Rapid River originates at , at Grouse Lake and at on the west slopes of

Jove Peak Jove Peak is a mountain summit located north of Stevens Pass on the common border of Snohomish County with Chelan County in Washington state. This peak is situated west of Lake Wenatchee, in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, on land managed ...

on the crest of the Cascades, east of the Beckler River. The latter source flows through Lake Janus—at —before meeting the Grouse Lake source creek, whereafter the river continues southwest. An early tributary comes from high Dow Lake, southwest of Union Pass and

Union Peak Union Peak is a heavily eroded shield volcano in the Cascade Range of central Oregon, located along the Cascade Crest less than southwest of the rim of Crater Lake. Ice age glaciers eroded away most of the flanks of the volcano, leaving nume ...

, also on the Cascade crest. 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 crest and parts of the high Rapid River basin. Both Jove and Union peaks are on the high crest of the Cascade Range, separating the Rapid River's

from the

Little Wenatchee River The Little Wenatchee River is the southern and smaller of the two rivers that flow into the west end of Lake Wenatchee. The northern and larger one is the White River. A large number of place names in the Little Wenatchee River basin, including t ...

drainage to the east. While the waters of the Rapid River ultimately empty into

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

those of the Little Wenatchee enter 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 ...

via the

Wenatchee River The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leaven ...

.General course info mainly from USGS topographic maps accessed via the "GNIS in Google Map" feature of the USGS

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website. From its source near the crest of the Cascades the Rapid River flows southwest and west, collecting numerous headwater tributaries. The Rapid River makes a northward bend. Near the northernmost part of this bend a tributary stream originating in Cup Lake and Saucer Lake and Margaret Lake on the Cascade Crest joins. Soon the North Fork Rapid River joins as well, followed by Meadow Creek. The North Fork rises four miles to the north, its headwaters flowing from Pear Lake, Peach Lake, and Grass Lake, close to Wenatchee Pass on the Cascade crest. Some of the larger mountains in the Rapid River's basin include Valhalla Mountain, Scrabble Mountain, Scorpion Mountain, Sunrise Mountain, Evergreen Mountain, Grizzly Peak, and Fortune Mountain. In terms of river size and streamflow, the true source of the South Fork Skykomish River is the Rapid River and Beckler River, even though the South Fork keeps its name above the Beckler confluence.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Washington (state)

See also

References