Skagit Gorge
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The Skagit 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 ...
in southwestern
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and northwestern
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 ...
in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 hectares) of 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 ...
along the northern end 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 ...
and flows into the sound. The Skagit watershed is characterized by a temperate, mid-latitude, maritime climate. Temperatures range widely throughout the watershed. Recorded temperatures at Newhalem range from a low of −6 °F (−21 °C) to a high of 109 °F (43 °C), with greater extremes likely in the mountains. The highest temperatures are commonly recorded in July; the lowest are in January.


Course

The Skagit River rises at
Allison Pass Allison Pass (el. ) is a highway summit along the Crowsnest Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the section of highway between the cities of Hope and Princeton. It is located in the middle of Manning Park, at the di ...
in the
Canadian Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascad ...
of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. From there it flows northwest along the
Crowsnest Highway The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection ...
, which follows the river into Manning Provincial Park. It turns abruptly south, where it receives Snass Creek from the right, then enters
Skagit Valley Provincial Park Skagit Valley Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, centred on the Skagit River and its tributaries. The park is 27,964 Hectares. The park borders E. C. Manning Provincial Park in Canada and Ross Lake National Recreat ...
at the point where it receives the
Sumallo River The Sumallo River is located in southern British Columbia, in the Cascade Mountains to the east of Hope. It begins on the east slopes of Mount Payne, south of the village of Sunshine Valley. It flows north until it reaches Sunshine Valley whe ...
from the right. It receives the
Klesilkwa River The Klesilkwa River is a tributary of the Skagit River, flowing east to join that river to the west of Shawatum Mountain after arising near Klesilkwa Mountain, on the east flank of Chilliwack Lake Chilliwack Lake is a lake in the upper basin of ...
from the right, and turns southeast to flow into Ross Lake, where it crosses the
Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
and into
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 ...
state. Ross Lake is formed by
Ross Dam Ross Dam is a -high, -long concrete thin arch dam across the Skagit River, forming Ross Lake. The dam is in Washington state, while Ross Lake extends north to British Columbia, Canada. Both dam and reservoir are located in Ross Lake National ...
and is approximately long, winding south through
Ross Lake National Recreation Area Ross Lake National Recreation Area is a US national recreation area in north central Washington just south of the Canada–US border. It is the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Complex which also includes North Cascad ...
. Here the river receives Beaver Creek from the right and Ruby Creek from the left. Spilling out of the dam the river enters Diablo Lake, formed by
Diablo Dam Diablo Dam is one of three dams along the upper Skagit River in Whatcom County, Washington and part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project that supplies Seattle with some of its power needs. The dam was built in Diablo Canyon, a gorge of solid ...
, and receives Thunder and Colonial creeks from the left, before it enters the third and final reservoir, Gorge Lake, formed by Gorge Dam. All three dams are part of the
Skagit River Hydroelectric Project The Skagit River Hydroelectric Project is a series of dams with hydroelectric power-generating stations on the Skagit River in the north of the U.S. state of Washington. The project is owned and operated by Seattle City Light to provide elect ...
. Past Gorge Dam, the river is often dry, as its waters have been diverted to generate
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
. Water is returned to the river as it passes Newhalem, a company town for
Seattle City Light Seattle City Light is the public utility providing electricity to Seattle, Washington, in the United States, and parts of its metropolitan area, including all of Shoreline, nearly all of Lake Forest Park, and parts of unincorporated King County, ...
. Copper and
Bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
creeks, both flowing from
North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Washington (state), Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the No ...
, merge into the Skagit from the right as it meanders slowly through an agricultural valley, past
Marblemount Marblemount is a census-designated place in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 286 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Present-day M ...
, where the Cascade River joins from the left, and Rockport, where it receives its major tributary, the Sauk River, from the left. After receiving the Sauk River, the Skagit turns west, flowing past
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
and receiving the Baker River, its second-largest tributary, from the right. The river continues to flow west, past
Sedro-Woolley Sedro-Woolley ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area and had a population of 12,421 at the 2020 census. The city is home to the admini ...
, Burlington and then
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
. It is crossed by
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
, a major national highway, between Burlington and Mount Vernon; the four-lane bridge over the Skagit River collapsed in May 2013 and was reopened a month later. At the former site of Skagit City, the Skagit River diverges into two forks, a north and south fork.
Fir Island Fir Island is bounded by North and South Forks of the Skagit River and Skagit Bay of Puget Sound in the southwestern corner of Skagit County, Washington. Triangular in outline, east–west by north–south with an area of nearly , Fir Is ...
lies between the forks in the floodplain. These two forks both empty into
Skagit Bay Skagit Bay is a bay and strait located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Whidbey Island Basin of Puget Sound. The Skagit River empties into Skagit Bay. To the south, Skagit Bay connects with the rest of Puget Sound via Sara ...
, a branch 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 ...
.


Natural history

The Skagit provides spawning habitat for
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
. It is the only large river system in Washington that contains healthy populations of all five native salmon species –
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 ...
,
coho COHO, short for Coherent Oscillator, is a technique used with radar systems based on the cavity magnetron to allow them to implement a moving target indicator display. Because the signals are only coherent when received, not transmitted, the concept ...
, chum,
pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
, and
sockeye The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Pacific Ocean, Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This ...
– and two species of
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
:
steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...
and
coastal cutthroat The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'', sometimes referred as ''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the four speciesTrotter, Patrick; Bisson, Pete ...
. The river supports one of the largest wintering
bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...
populations in the contiguous United States. The eagles feed on Chum and Coho salmon that have returned to spawn in the Skagit and its tributaries. The eagles arrive in late October or early November and stay into February. The highest number of eagles is usually seen in January. These eagles come from inland Canada and as far away as
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
and
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
. When the
salmon run A salmon run is an annual fish migration event where many salmonid species, which are typically hatched in fresh water and live most of their adult life downstream in the ocean, swim back against the stream to the upper reaches of rivers to s ...
is plentiful, as many as 600 to 800 eagles are attracted to the river. Thousands of
snow geese The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...
winter in the Skagit River
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
. These geese feed on
intertidal marsh An intertidal wetland is an area along a shoreline that is exposed to air at low tide and submerged at high tide. This type of wetland is defined by an intertidal zone and includes its own intertidal ecosystems. Description The main types of i ...
plants such as
bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland graminoid, grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **''Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' ...
and they are drawn to nearby farmlands where they find leftover
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es in the fields.
Trumpeter swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 304.8 cm (6 ft 2 in ...
s are drawn to the estuary habitat as well. There can be several hundred swans in the Skagit valley from October to February. Historically, the Skagit tidal estuary had
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
dams in the myrtle zone. These were overtopped at high tide, but at low tide their ponds nurtured juvenile salmon. The Skagit River basin provides habitat for a diverse set of animals. For more information about these animals, see '' List of Wildlife of the Skagit River Basin.''


Geology

The Skagit River was highly influenced by the repeated advance and retreat of the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. Ice and gravel moraines repeatedly blocked the Skagit, causing it to pool into lakes and forcing it to drain south into the future North Fork
Stillaguamish River The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish () and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. Fro ...
. After the ice retreated the Skagit breached the moraine dam near Concrete, Washington, finding its present course. The Sauk River and
Suiattle River The Suiattle River ( ) is a river in the northern Cascade Mountains of western Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is a tributary of the Sauk River (Washington), Sauk River and by extension the Skagit River. Its source is located ...
continued to drain into the future North Fork Stillaguamish River until eruptions of
Glacier Peak Glacier Peak or Dakobed (known in the Sauk-Suiattle dialect of the Lushootseed language as "Tda-ko-buh-ba" or "Takobia") is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes (composite volcanoes) of the Cascade Volcanoes, Cascade Volcanic Arc ...
choked the rivers with debris, causing the formation of an
alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...
near present-day
Darrington, Washington Darrington is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is located in a North Cascades mountain valley formed by the Sauk River (Washington), Sauk and Stillaguamish River, North F ...
. The debris forced the two rivers north to join the Skagit. Above Newhalem, Washington, the Skagit flows through a deep gorge, contrasting strongly with the glacial valley below Newhalem. One of the several theories about this anomaly is that the upper Skagit once drained northward into Canada and the growth and retreat of successive Cordilleran ice flows brought about the reversal. Each advance blocked the river, forcing it to find new routes to the south, in the process carving deep gorges. Eventually, the Skagit gorge was so deep that even after the Cordilleran ice retreated for good, the river continued flowing south instead of north into Canada. The Skagit watershed is made up of high peaks and low valleys. The highest points in the basin are two
volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
:
Mount Baker Mount Baker (; ), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most ...
, elevation , and Glacier Peak, elevation . Most of the basin lies above . The river completes its course at sea level where it meets the Puget Sound.


History

The river takes its name from the Skagit tribe, a name used by Europeans and Americans for two distinct Native American peoples, the
Upper Skagit The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe () is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally-recognized Indian tribe located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The tribe is the successor-in-interest to ap ...
and
Lower Skagit The Lower Skagit (sometimes called Whidbey Island Skagits) are a tribe of the Lushootseed Native American people living in the U.S. state of Washington. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Swinomish Indians of the S ...
. Native people have lived along the Skagit for thousands of years.
Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
evidence indicates that ancestors of the Upper Skagit tribe lived in the area now called
Ross Lake National Recreation Area Ross Lake National Recreation Area is a US national recreation area in north central Washington just south of the Canada–US border. It is the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Complex which also includes North Cascad ...
at least 8,000 years ago. They quarried
chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
from
Hozomeen Mountain Hozomeen Mountain is a double-summited rock peak on the east side of Ross Lake (Washington), Ross Lake in the North Cascades of Washington (state), Washington state. Despite its modest absolute elevation, it is notable for the large, steep dro ...
to make blades, which were used across a wide trading area. Both tribes traditionally spoke dialects of 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 ...
language, a branch of the
Salishan The Salishan languages ( ), also known as the Salish languages ( ), are a family of languages found in the Pacific Northwest in North America, namely the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Ida ...
family. The Upper Skagit tribe occupied the land along the Skagit from what is now Newhalem to the mouth of the river at Puget Sound. The Lower Skagit tribe lived on northern
Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...
and have come to be known also as the Whidbey Island Skagit. Archaeological evidence reveals that these peoples collected their food from the natural resources, through fishing, hunting, and gathering. The upper Skagit area was first described in writing in 1859 by Henry Custer, the American
topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...
for the US Boundary Commission. With two other American government men and ten locals from the
Nooksack Nooksack ( Nooksack: ''Noxwsʼáʔaq'') or Nootsack may refer to: * Nooksack people, an American Indian tribe in Whatcom County, Washington ** Nooksack language, the language of this tribe Places *Nooksack River, a river in Whatcom County, Washing ...
and
Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...
bands, he canoed and portaged from the
Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
down to Ruby Creek, a tributary of the upper Skagit River. The party found no native people inhabiting the Upper Skagit area at the time. Custer later talked about the area with an elder Samona
chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...
named Chinsoloc who had lived there at one time; he drew a detailed map from memory, which the topographer found to be accurate. (Note: It is unclear what tribe this refers to; there is no local tribe called Samona. The
Skeetchestn Indian Band The Skeetchestn Indian Band is a member of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, located in the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its main Indian reserve is located at Savona, British Columbia. The reserve was set up ...
, of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, were located in the area of present-day
Savona, British Columbia Savona ( ) is an unincorporated community in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia. The place is on the western end and south shore of Kamloops Lake, adjacent to the outlet into the Thompson River. On British Columbia High ...
. Since the 1860s, they have had a reserve there.) Custer documented this encounter and the accuracy of the chief's map in his ''Report of Henry Custer, Assistant of Reconnaissances, Made in 1859 over the routes in the Cascades Mountains in the vicinity of the 49th parallel'', now in the collection of the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
.Suiter 2002, pp. 99–100 Settlement along the river by
European Americans European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...
in the late 1800s was inhibited by two ancient logjams that blocked navigation upriver. The settlers first established a village at the tip of the delta which they called Skagit City. The massive logjam was found about upstream from the mouth of the river. Attempts to remove it began in 1874 by a team of loggers, who salvaged the logs. After three years of work, a section of the jam broke free and scattered downriver. Soon thereafter the river became navigable. Mount Vernon was founded at the approximate site of this logjam. In November 1897, the Skagit River flooded severely; in the aftermath as the floodwaters receded, two new logjams formed and blocked navigation. The largest was near the mouth, and filled the river from bank to bank for about . Using a recently built logjam removal boat named ''Skagit'', teams finally cleared this jam in about a month. The years 1909, 1917, and 1921 are the other annual peak discharges of record for the gauging station at
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
which is at the confluence of the
Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...
and Skagit Rivers. November 2017 brought significant flooding to the lower river at Mt. Vernon and Lyman.Boer, Katie. (November 24, 2017). "Highest river level in decades puts Mt. Vernon’s nearly complete floodwall to the test"
Q13 Fox website
Retrieved November 30, 2017.


Wild and scenic designation

In 1978, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
established the Skagit Wild and Scenic River System. The system includes of the Skagit and its tributaries — the Sauk, Suiattle, and Cascade rivers. This
Wild and Scenic Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildlife, an undomesticated organism * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild ...
designation is meant to protect and enhance the values that caused it to be listed: * Free-flowing characteristics and water quality of each of the four rivers; * Outstandingly remarkable wildlife, fish, and scenic qualities. The Skagit Wild and Scenic River System flows through both public and private lands. Fifty percent of the system is in private ownership, 44 percent is National Forest System land, and 6 percent is owned by the state and other agencies. The Skagit Wild and Scenic River is managed by the
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...
as part of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.


Economy

The
Skagit River Hydroelectric Project The Skagit River Hydroelectric Project is a series of dams with hydroelectric power-generating stations on the Skagit River in the north of the U.S. state of Washington. The project is owned and operated by Seattle City Light to provide elect ...
is a group of three major dams, constructed in the 1920s and 1930s, which are a primary source of
hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
for
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
and other area communities. The Skagit River Railway was constructed by the city of Seattle to transport workers and construction materials for the dams. The river today is a popular destination for
whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
and
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
.


Tributaries

Tributaries in Canada * Skaist River *
Sumallo River The Sumallo River is located in southern British Columbia, in the Cascade Mountains to the east of Hope. It begins on the east slopes of Mount Payne, south of the village of Sunshine Valley. It flows north until it reaches Sunshine Valley whe ...
*
Klesilkwa River The Klesilkwa River is a tributary of the Skagit River, flowing east to join that river to the west of Shawatum Mountain after arising near Klesilkwa Mountain, on the east flank of Chilliwack Lake Chilliwack Lake is a lake in the upper basin of ...
Tributaries in the US * Cascade River * Sauk River * Baker River


Cities and towns along the Skagit

*
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
* Burlington *
Sedro-Woolley Sedro-Woolley ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area and had a population of 12,421 at the 2020 census. The city is home to the admini ...
* Lyman *
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
*
Concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
* Rockport * Newhalem


See also

*
List of rivers of British Columbia The following is a partial list of rivers of British Columbia, organized by drainage basin, watershed. Some large creeks are included either because of size or historical importance (See Alphabetical List of British Columbia rivers ). Also includ ...
*
List of Washington rivers This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Washington. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin. Respective tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name and are ordered downstream to upstream. Strait of Georgia ...
*
List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers This is a list of the designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the United States. Each river has been designated by United States Congress, Congress, or, if certain requirements were met, the United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretar ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * *Suiter, John. Poets on the Peaks (2002) Counterpoint. ; (pbk)


External links


Skagit River Flows and Forecasts

Skagit River Journal of History & Folklore

History of Skagit River flooding







Rasar State Park


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{{authority control Rivers of British Columbia Rivers of Washington (state) International rivers of North America North Cascades of Washington (state) Canadian Cascades Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Drainage basins of the Pacific Ocean Rivers of Skagit County, Washington Rivers of Whatcom County, Washington