The Willapa River is a river on the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five 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 bounded by the cont ...
coast of southwestern
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
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, approximately long. It drains an area of low hills and a coastal plain into
Willapa Bay, a large estuary north of the mouth of the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wà na'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
.
The river rises in the
Willapa Hills in southeastern
Pacific County, approximately west of
Chehalis. It flows northwest in a winding course past the small communities of
Willapa and
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷá ...
. It enters the northwest end of Willapa Bay at
South Bend
South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
.
Name
The name is that of the
Willapa people
Willapa may refer to:
* Willapa people, an Athapaskan-speaking people in Washington, United States
* Willapa River, river on the Pacific coast of southwestern Washington, United States
* '' General Miles'', a ship
* Willapa Electric Company, ...
, an
Athapaskan-speaking people, now extinct, who occupied the valley of the river and also the prairies between the headwaters of the
Chehalis and
Cowlitz Rivers.
See also
*
List of rivers of Washington (state)
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 ...
References
Rivers of Washington (state)
Rivers of Pacific County, Washington
{{Washington-river-stub