The Wishkah River is a tributary of the Chehalis River 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 o ...

. Approximately long, the river drains a remote rural area of approximately in Grays Harbor County along the Washington coast north of

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), and ...

. It flows south through the county and empties into the Chehalis at Aberdeen. The name "Wishkah" is an adaptation of the

Chehalis Chehalis may refer to: People * Chehalis people, a Native American people of Washington state **Lower Chehalis language **Upper Chehalis language * Sts'Ailes people (Chehalis people), a First Nation in British Columbia * Chehalis First Nation, Bri ...

word ''hwish-kahl'', meaning "stinking water".

In popular culture

Nirvana

The

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

song "

Something in the Way "Something in the Way" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the 12th song on their second album, ''Nevermind'', released in September 1991. It is the final listed song on the album, althou ...

" refers to the experiences of lead singer

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

while living under a bridge on the river after dropping out of high school and being kicked out of his mother's home. According to his biographer

Charles R. Cross Charles R. Cross is a Seattle-based music journalist, author and editor. He is primarily known for his coverage of Bruce Springsteen, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix. Career He was the Editor of '' The Rocket'' in Seattle for fifteen years (1 ...

, however, this was largely a myth created by Cobain himself. One third of his cremated remains were scattered in the river after his death. '' From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah'' is a live album compiled by the band. It was released on October 1, 1996, two and a half years after Cobain's death, and features live performances recorded from 1989 to 1994.

References

Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Grays Harbor County, Washington {{Washington-river-stub

In popular culture

Nirvana

See also

References