Wenatchee River at Tumwater 

 Canyon (Station 5) 



The Wenatchee River actually 

 leaves its true valley a few miles 

 below Plain and flows for approxi- 

 mately 6 miles through the steep, 

 narrow Tumwater Canyon. This is 

 the roughest and steepest portion 

 of the entire river. The only addi- 

 tional major tributary to the river 

 at this station is the Chiwaukum 

 Creek. 



Table 16. — Wenatchee River at Tumwater Canyon — Water 

 quality, physical characteristics, 1955-1956. 



Temperature (2 F. ) 



Turbidity (units) 



Color (units) 



Specific conductance 



(microrahos/cm at 25* C. ) 



Average Minimum MsLximum 

 50 32 62 

 8 2 33 

 10 4 38 



36 



25 



54 



Due to the heavy snowfall dur- 

 ing the winter of 1955-1956, water 

 sample collection wjis seriously 

 hampered at this station. Samples 

 obtained from January through April, 

 1956 were of necessity collected 

 from the Tumwater bridge, about 2 

 miles upstream from Station 5. It 

 was felt that the water quality was 

 essentially the same at the two 

 points. 



Physical characteristics 



The physical characteristics 

 of the waters of the Wenatchee River 

 at Tumwater Canyon are shown in 

 tables 16 and 17. 



These physical characteristics 

 plotted against time are shown 

 graphically in figures 16 and 17. 



Chemical characteristics 



The chemical characteristics 

 of the Wenatchee River at Tumwater 

 Canyon are shown in table 18. They 

 are also plotted versus time and 

 shown graphically in figures 16 and 

 17. 



Summary 



The waters of the Wenatchee 

 River at Tumwater Canyon had prac- 

 tically the same characteristics as 

 those previously noted for Station 

 4 upstream at Plain. A general 

 description would emphasize their 

 low suspended and dissolved material 

 content, their softness and neutral 

 pH. The diurnal variation in water 

 temperature was for the most part 

 the same also for the two stations. 



Table 17. — Wenatchee River at Tumwater Canyon — Water 

 quality, water temperature, 1956. 



1/ Not available. 



Table 18. — Wenatchee River at Tumwater Canyon — Water 



quality, chemical characteristics, 1955-1956 —. 



W All units are ppm except pH and percent saturation. 



23 



