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35-507: The Puyallup River is the largest freshwater stream emptying into the bay. Others include Ruston Creek , Mason Creek , Asarco Creek , Puget Creek , Hylebos Creek , and Wapato Creek . Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition named Commencement Bay in 1841, commemorating the place where he started his survey of southern Puget Sound. The first Euro-American habitation on Commencement Bay

70-672: A Puyallup. Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington , including Puget Sound , the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains . It is characterized by a complex array of saltwater bays, islands, and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers. Poet Robert Sund called

105-586: A Superfund site in 1983. In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that the St. Paul Waterway, once among the most contaminated parts of Commencement Bay, had been the first marine Superfund site in the nation to be cleansed of pollution. 47°17′23″N 122°27′29″W  /  47.2897°N 122.4580°W  / 47.2897; -122.4580 Puyallup River The Puyallup River ( / p juː ˈ æ l ə p / pyew- AL -əp )

140-608: A high-rise central business district . The satellite cities are primarily suburban , featuring a small downtown core and a small industrial area or port . The suburbs consist mostly of residences, strip malls , and shopping centers. The region is also home to numerous ports. The two largest and busiest are the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma , which, if combined, comprise the third largest container port in North America after Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey. As defined by

175-468: A large smelting facility was operated by ASARCO on the shore of Commencement Bay near Point Defiance. The town of Ruston surrounds the former ASARCO plant. Tailing waste was dumped into the bay, eventually forming a long peninsula. Today it is a project area within the Commencement Bay Superfund site. The Thea Foss Waterway , an arm of Commencement Bay near downtown Tacoma, was declared

210-492: A rich and complex habitat for fish and other animals. In addition, the river's mouth at Commencement Bay occupied an extensive tidal flat and wetland estuary delta. Urbanization and an extensive system of flood control structures such as dams, levees, and culverts, have radically altered much of the Puyallup River and its tributaries. The estuary delta at the mouth of the Puyallup River has been almost completely replaced with

245-469: Is a river in the U.S. state of Washington . About 45 miles (72 km) long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier . It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay , part of Puget Sound . The river and its tributaries drain an area of about 948 square miles (2,460 km ) in Pierce County and southern King County . The river's watershed is the youngest in

280-575: Is due to the Aleutian Low coming in from the northwest, and variation in winter rain from year to year is mostly due to variation in the strength of the Aleutian Low (strong = dry and weak = wet). The dry season (May-Sep) is caused by a subtropical high moving north from California. The driest part of the region is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains around Sequim and Whidbey Island , receiving 40-75 cm of precipitation per year. The wettest part

315-735: Is in the foothills of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mts, and on the west side of the Sound, receiving 125-1000+ cm of precipitation per year. North Pacific Oak Woodland is one of the principal plant associations of the Puget Trough, where many of the soils are well drained mesic. Counties of the Puget Sound region: In addition, the San Juan Islands (all of San Juan County plus a few islands belonging to Whatcom County ) are often considered part of

350-512: The Boeing Company became established in the area. During World War II the Puget Sound area became a focus for the war industry, with Boeing producing many of the nation's heavy bombers and the ports of Seattle, Bremerton and Tacoma available for shipbuilding. The most important yards in the Sound during World War II were Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding 's Seattle and Tacoma yards, also known as Todd Pacific , Todd Seattle and Todd Tacoma and

385-624: The Oregon Country , and became U.S. territory when the 1846 Oregon Treaty was signed. After arriving along the Oregon Trail , many settlers wandered north to what is now Washington and settled the Puget Sound area. The first non-indigenous settlement was New Market (now known as Tumwater ) in 1846. In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory . In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking

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420-855: The Puget Sound Navy Yard . They produced a significant portion of destroyers and escort carriers . Smaller operations included Winslow , Associated Shipbuilders and the Lake Washington Shipyard . Since 1995, Puget Sound has been recognized as an American Viticultural Area by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau . The urban region designated the Puget Sound Region is centered on Seattle and consists of nine counties , two urban center cities and four satellite cities making up what has been dubbed "Pugetopolis." Both urban core cities have large industrial areas and seaports plus

455-689: The Puget Sound region , having been formed from a series of lahars starting about 5,600 years ago. The valley's 150,000 residents are at risk from future lahars. For this reason, the United States Geological Survey has installed a lahar warning system. The Puyallup River begins in two forks, the North Puyallup River and the South Puyallup River. Both originate at glaciers on Mount Rainier. The North Puyallup River flows from

490-518: The Seattle–Tacoma combined statistical area (CSA), which encompasses most of the Puget Sound region. The population of this wider region is 4,269,349—almost two-thirds of Washington's population—as of 2012 . The Seattle CSA is the 12th largest CSA , and the 13th largest primary census statistical area in the country. The additional metropolitan and micropolitan areas included are: A state-run ferry system, Washington State Ferries , connects

525-583: The U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget , the Seattle metropolitan area is officially the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and consists of: Based on commuting patterns, the adjacent metropolitan areas of Olympia , Bremerton , and Mount Vernon , along with a few smaller satellite urban areas, are grouped together in a wider labor market region known as

560-622: The Vashon Glaciation , the Puget Sound region was covered by a lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet . The glacier that covered the area was about 3,000 feet (900 m) thick within the vicinity of Seattle. By the time Captain George Vancouver found the Sound in 1792, early native people had already been there for over 5,000 years. Logging started as early as 1853. In the 1880s logging railroads cut their way into Puget Sound. 1886

595-659: The Puget Sound region "Ish River country", owing to its numerous rivers with names ending in "ish", such as the Duwamish , Samish , Sammamish , Skokomish , Skykomish , Snohomish , and the Stillaguamish . The ish ending is from Salishan languages and means "people of". The Puget Sound region was formed by the collision and attachment of many terranes ("microcontinents") to the North American Plate between about 50 to 10 million years ago. About 15,000 years ago during

630-464: The Puyallup River, splitting Commencement Bay between the two counties. In 1901 the border was changed, giving Pierce County the entire bay. Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding operated out of the bay during World War 2 producing escort carriers and auxiliaries as one of the yards belonging to the Todd Corporation , which included a nearby yard on Harbor Island, Seattle . For much of the 20th century

665-460: The Puyallup River. These rights were ignored for decades until Bob Satiacum was arrested in 1954 for fishing illegally on the river. His legal case continued for years and resulted in the 1974 Boldt Decision , which granted half of all fishing rights in Washington state to native tribes. The Puyallup tribe continues to maintain several buildings and properties on reservation lands near the mouth of

700-529: The Puyallup from the east. Below the Mowich confluence, the Puyallup River flows through a rugged region of mountains and foothills. The river is dammed at Electron Diversion Dam shortly below the Mowich confluence. The dam diverts a portion of the Puyallup River into a long flume , which runs for several miles to Electron, where the water is passed through turbines in a hydroelectric powerhouse before being returned to

735-399: The St. Helens fire burned 300,000 acres (1,200 km ). Mount Rainier National Park started in 1899. The 1902 Yacolt Burn burned 600,000 acres (2,400 km ). Olympic National Park was established in 1938. George Vancouver explored Puget sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for Great Britain on June 4, 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget . It became part of

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770-608: The White River, have been subjected to major modifications during the 20th century. The Puyallup River between Sumner and its mouth at Tacoma was straightened . A diversion dam was built at Game Farm Park in 1914 to prevent the White River from flowing on its natural course into the Green River at Auburn; since then it has flowed into the Puyallup River instead of the Green River. Flood protection structures were built along many rivers in

805-500: The basin, including extensive levees . A flood storage reservoir, Mud Mountain Lake, was created on the White River with the construction of Mud Mountain Dam . As part of the flood control efforts, river channels and embankments have been generally kept clear of debris such as gravel bars, large trees, logjams, and other woody debris. These modifications have radically altered the natural character of

840-494: The facilities of the Port of Tacoma, with less than 5% of the original estuarine habitat remaining. A fall run of chinook salmon occurs on the river. coho , chum , and pink salmon are also found in the river, along with steelhead , sea-run coastal cutthroat trout , and a threatened species, bull trout . Sockeye salmon are considered indigenous to the basin, but are rarely seen today. The Puyallup River and its main tributary,

875-471: The larger islands to the Washington mainland, as well as both sides of the sound, allowing cars and people to move about the greater Puget Sound region. The region has a Csb ( warm summer mediterranean ) climate with some areas in the far east (western foothills of the Cascades) having an oceanic ( Cfb ) climate if the 30 millimetres (1.2 in) isohyet is used. The wet season is from October to April and

910-450: The railroad reached the bay in 1883 it caused a boom of development in Tacoma. The railroad facilities were located near the extensive tide flats by the mouth of the Puyallup River, about a mile from the original site of Tacoma. Not only did the tide flats provide level ground compared to the steep slopes surrounding the rest of the bay, but dredging work would quickly provide deep water access to

945-458: The railyards and warehouses. A new town, called New Tacoma, quickly grew up by the railroad hub. "Old town" Tacoma and New Tacoma soon merged. Large land grants were provided to the Northern Pacific, including a significant part of the coast of Commencement Bay. Over time the city of Tacoma bought up this land. Originally the boundary between Pierce and King counties ran east from the mouth of

980-410: The region to eastern states. For a long period Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including World War I and World War II , and

1015-609: The river is joined by the White River , another glacier-fed river. At the White River confluence, the Puyallup River turns northwest, flowing by the cities of Puyallup and Fife , and through the Puyallup Indian Reservation , before emptying into Commencement Bay at the Port of Tacoma , part of the city of Tacoma . The Puyallup River and its main tributaries originate in the glaciers of Mount Rainier. These glaciers continually provide sediment such as silt and gravel to

1050-581: The river. The Puyallup River passes through a steep and narrow gorge between Electron Dam and the powerhouse. After Electron the river turns north and flows by the city of Orting , where it is joined by the Carbon River from the east. Like the Mowich, the Carbon River also originates at a glacier on Mount Rainier (the Carbon Glacier ). The Puyallup continues its northernly course after Orting. At Sumner ,

1085-523: The river. They are stakeholders in many issues about the river, such as the amount of water diverted at Electron Diversion Dam. The first known European to explore the Puyallup River valley was William Fraser Tolmie , who in August 1833 made a journey to the Mount Rainier area via the Puyallup and Mowich river valleys. Two Native American guides accompanied Tolmie, Lachalet, a Nisqually Indian, and Nuckalkat,

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1120-573: The rivers, creating sand and gravel bars. The thick sediment deposits in the stream beds lower water capacity, which causes the river to meander and flood during periods of high streamflow. It also causes the rivers to become braided and meandering . During the summer glacial meltwater dominates the streamflow, turning the Puyallup River turbid . In addition, the glaciers delay the onset of spring-summer runoff , compared to unglaciated river basins. Historically, these factors resulted in frequent flooding and extensive floodplain wetlands , and provided

1155-617: The rivers. River widths have been generally reduced. Water now fills nearly all of the land between river banks, instead of the historic pattern of braided meanders and wetlands. The river is named for the Puyallup tribe , who lived throughout the river basin. After the Treaty of Medicine Creek and the Puget Sound War the Puyallup were granted a reservation on the lower Puyallup River. The Treaty of Medicine Creek recognized native fishing rights on

1190-406: The toe of Puyallup Glacier , while the South Puyallup River flows from Tahoma Glacier . The two streams flow through the western part of Mount Rainier National Park , joining just outside the park boundary and forming the Puyallup River proper. The main Puyallup River flows north and northwest from Mount Rainier. The tributary Mowich River , which also flows from glaciers on Mount Rainier, joins

1225-502: Was by Swede Nicolas Delin (b. ca. 1817). He built a water-powered sawmill in 1852 where a creek entered the head of the bay. A small community grew up around the operation, but the settlers evacuated during the Puget Sound War of 1855–56 and did not return. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway , the first transcontinental railroad in the northern United States, announced it would locate its terminus at Commencement Bay. When

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