The Pilchuck River () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 72nd-most popul ...

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 ...

. It is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Snohomish River The Snohomish River is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, formed by the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near Monroe. It flows northwest entering Port Gardner Bay, part of Puget Sound, between Everett and Marysville. ...

. The name is derived from the

Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...

''pilpil'' ("blood", "red") and ''chuck'' ("water"), or "red water". The

Lushootseed Lushootseed ( ), historically known as Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish, or Skagit-Nisqually, is a Central Coast Salish language of the Salishan language family. Lushootseed is the general name for the dialect continuum composed of two main di ...

name means "flowing red," being an archaic term for "red" in Northern Lushootseed.

Course

The Pilchuck River originates in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. It flows generally west until it reaches Granite Falls, then it turns and flows south, passing by Lochsloy and

Machias Machias may refer to: Places * Machias, Maine, a New England town ** Machias (CDP), Maine, the main village within the town * Machias Bay, in Washington County, Maine * Machias River (Aroostook River tributary) in northern Maine * Machias River ...

before emptying into the

near Snohomish. The Snohomish River empties into

Possession Sound Possession Sound is part of Puget Sound, located in the U.S. state of Washington between Whidbey Island and the shoreline of Snohomish County approximately between the cities of Everett and Mukilteo. Possession Sound connects the main Puget ...

, part of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

.Washington Water Year 2005
USGS Water Resources Data The Pilchuck River has sections that have long stretches of gravel bars as well as glacial terraces. The Pilchuck River flows alongside the Centennial Trail from Machias to Snohomish.

Human history

Suburban development along the river's course in the mid-to-late 20th century resulted in declining salmon runs and the placement of obstructions that damaged fish habitats. Mitigation work began in 2002 under the

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT); the Pilchuck River had begun to threaten sections of State Route 92 near Granite Falls with erosion. A house was swept away by the river in 2012 and continued to threaten other properties, resulting in a 2016 WSDOT project to stabilize the banks and reroute the river. Additional work to create new fish habitats in the river by placing logs tied to large rocks began in 2024. The Pilchuck River Dam was constructed in 1912 southeast of Granite Falls to provide

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

for parts of Snohomish. A second dam on the site was constructed in 1932 and included a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...

. The dams prevented salmon from accessing the upper Pilchuck watershed; by 2019, the annual salmon run had declined by 99.6 percent of its historic counts. The

Tulalip Tribes The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, ), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. They are South and ...

and city government of Snohomish planned for the dam's removal in the 2010s and received funding from government sources and a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The dam was removed in August 2020 at a cost of $2 million; by November, most of the sediment behind the dam had been deposited downstream by the river.

References

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

Course

Human history

See also

References