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Chapter 1: DESCRIPTION OF THE BASIN 



The Chehalis River Basin, as defined in the Act, includes ail the rivers and 

 streams entering Grays Harbor and the land they drain (Figure 1), plus the 

 waters of Grays Harbor itself. The Basin is the second largest in the State 

 of Washington, the Columbia being the only one larger, and includes all of 

 Grays Harbor County, most of Lewis County, parts of Mason and Thurston 

 Counties, and small parts of Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties. The Chehalis 

 Basin includes about 27,000 acres of saltwater in Grays Harbor itself (SCS 

 1975) and about 3,353 stream miles (Phinney et al. 1975). These waters 

 provide a complex and diverse ecosystem with spawning and rearing areas that 

 support several economically valuable species of anadromous fish (primarily 

 salmon, steelhead, and sea-run cutthroat trout), whose restoration is the 

 subject of this report. 



PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 



The Chehalis River originates in the Willapa Hills in southwest Washington and 

 flows into the Pacific Ocean via Grays Harbor. The main Willapa Hills 

 tributaries of fishery interest are Elk Creek, which enters near the town of 

 Doty, and the South Fork Chehalis, which enters near the town of Adna 

 (Figure 2). 



The river then flows east from the Willapa Hills into the Puget Trough, the 

 lowland separating the Willapa Hills from the southern Cascades. At that 

 point, the river flows north and receives two very important fish-bearing 

 tributaries from the Cascade foothills. The Newaukum River enters near the 

 town of Chehalis, and the Skookumchuck River joinB the Chehalis River near 

 Centralia (Figure 2). 



From that point, the Chehalis Valley widens and turns to the northwest, where 

 the Black River drains the southern Puget Lowlands, joining the Chehalis east 

 of the Black Hills on the Chehalis Indian Reservation. Cloguallum Creek 

 enters west of the Black Hills, near the town of Elma. 



The river then turns to the west and drains the southern flank of the Olympic 

 Range (Figure 2). The principal fish-producing streams of this region are the 

 Satsop, Wynoochee, Wishkah, Hoguiam, and Humptulips Rivers. The Satsop enters 

 the Chehalis River near the town of Satsop, and is the last major tributary 

 upstream of tidal influence. The Wynoochee, Wishkah, and Hoguiam enter 

 successively downstream at the towns of Hontesano, Aberdeen, and Hoguiam. 

 Near the Wishkah, the Chehalis widens into Grays Harbor, which ia 

 approximately 15 miles long and 13 miles wide. 



The Humptulips River also drains the southern Olympics but, unlike the 

 Chehalis tributaries, the Humptulips independently enters the north side of 

 Grays Harbor. On the southern side of Grays Harbor, two small rivers, the Elk 

 and the Johns, drain from the northern Willapa Hills. Grays Harbor joins the 

 Pacific Ocean through a narrow channel north of the fishing town of Westport. 



