THE YAKIMA RIVER IN WASHINGTON. 



BY F. H. NEWELL. 



r T!HE Yakima river is one of the principal tributa- 

 JL ries of the Columbia, in the State of Washington. 

 Its drainage basin is a trifle south of the center of the 

 State, and inclines southeasterly, the waters discharg- 

 ing into the Columbia about ten miles above the 

 mouth of Snake river. The extreme length of the 

 basin is approximately 135 miles, the greatest width 

 65 miles, the average width less than 40 miles, and the 

 total area 5,200 square miles, or 7.78 per cent, of the 

 total land area of the State. The upper edge of the 

 basin lies along the eastern crest of the Cascade mount- 

 ains, which rise to heights of from 10,000 to 14,000 

 feet, the most prominent peak, Mount Tacoma or 

 Rainier, having an altitude of 14,450. The passes over 

 the range are at an altitude of 4,000 feet and upward. 

 This side of the basin is seventy-five miles long, thus 

 including nearly one-third of the eastern slope of this 

 mountain range, or at least of that portion of it in Wash- 

 ington. 



THE WATER RESOURCES. 



Among the mountains, which are densely covered 

 with timber, the precipitation, in the form of rain and 

 snow is heavy, and the streams, relative to the area 

 drained, carry a large amount of water. Many of the 

 higher valleys contain lakes, some of them of notable 

 size, as, for example, Keechelus, Kachass, and Tloea- 

 lum, near the northern end of the basin. These lakes 

 serve as natural reservoirs, regulating, to a certain ex- 

 tent, the discharge of the streams, reducing the height 

 of the floods, and increasing the summer flow. Their 

 usefulness in this regard could be greatly increased at 

 moderate expense by erecting suitable dams and gates 

 at their outlets. From the lakes and tributary torrents, 

 a number of creeks flow in a general easterly direction, 

 finally uniting in Yakima river, which flows near the 

 eastern side of the drainage basin. Few, if any, per- 

 ennial streams come in from this side below the head- 

 waters, the hills, which traverse the plain or plateau of 

 the Columbia, not having sufficient altitude to receive 

 much rain. 



THE TOPOGRAPHY. 



The topography of this region has been quite fully 

 described by I. C. Russell in Bulletin No. 108 of the 

 United States Geological Survey, entitled, " A Geo- 

 logical Reconnaissance in Central Washington," 

 wherein is shown the peculiar structure of valleys 

 and plains along the Yakima. This river passes with 

 rapid fall in succession through a number of trans- 

 verse ranges of hills, flowing with more gentle current 

 through the intervening valleys. The total length of 



A PORTION OF WASHINGTON, SHOWING YAKIMA RIVER 

 AND TRIBUTARIES. 



the river is about 170 miles, not taking into account 

 the smaller bends. In the upper part of its course it 

 falls at the rate of from eighteen to twenty feet per 

 mile, or more. Lower down between Ellensburg and 

 Yakima it averages about fourteen feet per mile, de- 

 creasing toward Prosser to about twelve feet per^mile, 

 and then to six feet per mile or even less. Through- 

 out its course, however, it is a remarkably swift 

 stream, and one which, flowing through a dry country, 

 is unusually well adapted for employment in irriga- 

 tion. 



WATER MEASUREMENTS. 



A few measurements of water have been made in 

 in this basin, and several gauges established for the 

 purpose of obtaining the heights of water, and from 

 this the probable daily discharge at these points. The 

 uppermost of these gauge rods is near the outlet of 

 Lake Kachass and about two miles northerly from 

 the railroad station of Easton. The altitude of this 

 latter place is, according to railroad levels, 2,180 feet, 

 and it is probable that the waters of the lake are at an 

 elevation of over 2,200 feet. The lake, or at least the 



