The Chinook River is a short stream located near the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

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 so ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Course

The Chinook River originates just north of the

Astoria–Megler Bridge The Astoria–Megler Bridge is a steel cantilever through-truss bridge in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that spans the lower Columbia River. It carries a section of U.S. Route 101 from Astoria, Oregon, to Point Ellice near M ...

, near Scarboro Hill in the

Willapa Hills The Willapa Hills is a geologic, physiographic, and geographic region in southwest Washington. When described as a physiographical province, the Willapa Hills are bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Columbia River to the south, the Olymp ...

. The river flows west and northwest, just north of

Fort Columbia State Park Fort Columbia State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve at the site of the former Fort Columbia, located on Chinook Point at the mouth of the Columbia River in Chinook, Washington. The state park features twelve historic woo ...

Chinook Point Chinook Point is a headland in Pacific County, Washington. Located just northwest of the mouth of the Columbia River, it is historically significant for several reasons. Captain Robert Gray, the first non-native to enter the river, saw it from ...

, and the small town of

Chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

on the Columbia River. Its lower course runs through the Chinook Wildlife Area. The river empties into Baker Bay, part of the

, at Stringtown, about east of

Ilwaco Ilwaco ( ) is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,087 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core econo ...

. Baker Bay is part of the

Columbia River Estuary The Columbia River Estuary is situated on the Oregon– Washington border and the Pacific Coast of the United States. It was traditionally inhabited by the Chinook Native Americans and discovered by settlers in 1788. The Estuary plays host ...

and located just east of Cape Disappointment and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

.USGS topographic maps accessed via https://mapper.acme.com

References

{{authority control Rivers of Washington (state) Rivers of Pacific County, Washington Tributaries of the Columbia River

Course

See also

References