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26-709: Many of the Snoqualmie River's headwaters originate as snowmelt within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness . On August 8, 2007, U.S. Representative Dave Reichert ( WA-08 ), King County Executive Ron Sims , and others announced a proposal to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to include the valley of the Pratt River, a tributary of the Middle Fork, near the town of North Bend. The proposal would also give

52-409: A lake / sea or its confluence with another river. Each headwater is considered one of the river's sources , as it is the place where surface runoffs from rainwater , meltwater and/or spring water begin accumulating into a more substantial and consistent flow that becomes a first-order tributary of that river. The tributary with the longest course downstream of the headwaters is regarded as

78-519: A 160-acre parcel from Puget Sound Power and Light . Originally named Twin Falls State Park, following the park's expansion in 1976 its name was changed to Olallie, after a Chinook word for the berries which are common in the park. The park features old-growth forests and five notable waterfalls: Twin Falls, Middle Twin Falls, Upper Twin Falls, Weeks Falls , and Upper Weeks Falls. Twin Falls features

104-634: A bit before turning northwest and continuing in that general direction until it merges with the Snoqualmie River Proper just above Snoqualmie Falls. It drops over a total of 6 waterfalls (many would argue 8 because many people divide the final one into three portions). The Middle Fork, approximately 41 miles (66 km) long, originates from Chain Lakes, 47°33′30″N 121°14′15″W  /  47.55833°N 121.23750°W  / 47.55833; -121.23750 , and flows south to Williams Lake, then in

130-552: A confluence of tributaries can be a true river source, though both often provide the starting point for the portion of a river carrying a single name. For example, National Geographic and virtually every other geographic authority and atlas define the source of the Nile River not as Lake Victoria 's outlet where the name "Nile" first appears, which would reduce the Nile's length by over 900 km (560 mi) (dropping it to fourth or fifth on

156-529: A river source specifically uses the most distant point (along watercourses from the river mouth ) in the drainage basin from which water runs year-around ( perennially ), or, alternatively, as the furthest point from which water could possibly flow ephemerally . The latter definition includes sometimes-dry channels and removes any possible definitions that would have the river source "move around" from month to month depending on precipitation or ground water levels. This definition, from geographer Andrew Johnston of

182-596: A tributary of the Mississippi River . But it also follows the first definition above (along with virtually all other geographic authorities and publications) in using the combined Missouri—lower Mississippi length figure in lists of lengths of rivers around the world. Most rivers have numerous tributaries and change names often; it is customary to regard the longest tributary or stem as the source, regardless of what name that watercourse may carry on local maps and in local usage. This most commonly identified definition of

208-511: A westerly direction until it meets with the North Fork near North Bend. It receives the waters of the Taylor River and the Pratt River in short order about halfway between its source and its mouth. It has one major waterfall along its course. The upper reaches of the Middle Fork, Taylor, and Pratt river valleys are within the boundaries of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. The Middle Fork Valley

234-468: A wide turn north. Just before its confluence with the Middle Fork the river flows through a canyon near Ernie's Grove . There are several waterfalls within this canyon including Fantastic Falls . The Snoqualmie River has quite a few major waterfalls. By far the most famous waterfall in Washington, receiving over 1 million visitors every year, is the 268-foot (82 m) high Snoqualmie Falls . However,

260-648: Is a popular recreational area since it is accessible during the winter due to its low altitude and close proximity to Seattle. For many years the Middle Fork Road extended 24 miles (39 km) to Hardscrabble Creek, but was gated at Dingford Creek in June 2007, 18 miles (29 km) in. The gate at Dingford Creek was a controversial part of the Access and Travel Management plan adopted by the US Forest Service in 2005. Much of

286-426: Is considered a linear geographic feature, with only one mouth and one source. For an example, the Mississippi River and Missouri River sources are officially defined as follows: The verb "rise" can be used to express the general region of a river's source, and is often qualified with an adverbial expression of place. For example: The word "source", when applied to lakes rather than rivers or streams, refers to

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312-569: The Churn — although not without contention. When not listing river lengths, however, alternative definitions may be used. The Missouri River's source is named by some USGS and other federal and state agency sources, following Lewis and Clark 's naming convention, as the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson rivers, rather than the source of its longest tributary (the Jefferson). This contradicts

338-608: The Smithsonian Institution , is also used by the National Geographic Society when pinpointing the source of rivers such as the Amazon or Nile . A definition given by the state of Montana agrees, stating that a river source is never a confluence but is "in a location that is the farthest, along water miles, from where that river ends." Under this definition, neither a lake (excepting lakes with no inflows) nor

364-503: The main stem . The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states that a river's "length may be considered to be the distance from the mouth to the most distant headwater source (irrespective of stream name), or from the mouth to the headwaters of the stream commonly known as the source stream". As an example of the second definition above, the USGS at times considers the Missouri River as

390-479: The North Bend Timber Company's activity from 1923 to 1941. The North Fork, approximately 28 miles (45 km) long, originates at the outlet of small, rarely visited Lake Kanim , 47°39′41″N 121°28′58″W  /  47.66139°N 121.48278°W  / 47.66139; -121.48278 . Almost directly after exiting the lake it drops over Kanim Falls . The river then flows east before making

416-489: The Pratt River National Wild and Scenic River status. The South Fork, approximately 31 miles (50 km) long, begins at the outlet of tiny Source Lake, 47°27′18″N 121°27′9″W  /  47.45500°N 121.45250°W  / 47.45500; -121.45250 , and flows southeast before soon turning southwest and continuing to flow in that direction until after Denny Creek joins. It then flows west for

442-473: The Raging River are also monitored by USGS streamgages. The Snoqualmie Flood Reduction Project was a controversial Army Corps of Engineers project completed in 2005 to reduce the effect of floods in the town of Snoqualmie by widening the river just above the falls. Headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the point on each of its tributaries upstream from its mouth / estuary into

468-517: The lake's inflow . Upper Weeks Falls Olallie State Park is a public recreation area featuring multiple waterfalls located five miles (8.0 km) southeast of North Bend , Washington . The state park spans a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) stretch along the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River . The most prominent feature of the park is 135-foot-high (41 m) Twin Falls . The park originated in 1950, when Washington State Parks purchased

494-613: The list of world's rivers), but instead use the source of the largest river flowing into the lake, the Kagera River . Likewise, the source of the Amazon River has been determined this way, even though the river changes names numerous times along its course. However, the source of the Thames in England is traditionally reckoned according to the named river Thames rather than its longer tributary,

520-598: The melting of glacial ice . Headwater areas are the upstream areas of a watershed , as opposed to the outflow or discharge of a watershed. The river source is often but not always on or quite near the edge of the watershed, or watershed divide. For example, the source of the Colorado River is at the Continental Divide separating the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean watersheds of North America . A river

546-636: The most common definition, which is, according to a US Army Corps of Engineers official on a USGS site, that "[geographers] generally follow the longest tributary to identify the source of rivers and streams." In the case of the Missouri River, this would have the source be well upstream from Lewis and Clark's confluence, "following the Jefferson River to the Beaverhead River to Red Rock River , then Red Rock Creek to Hell Roaring Creek ." Sometimes

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572-455: The road's route is on the 1920s and 1930s era railroad grade of the North Bend Timber Company. The paved portion of the Middle Fork road was extended by 9.7 miles (15.6 km) during a 3-year construction project from 2014 to 2016, extending pavement to just before the Taylor River bridge. The Middle Fork Valley was heavily logged starting in 1923 and continued up through the 1970s. The obvious railroad grades, pilings, and related debris are from

598-501: The source of the most remote tributary may be in an area that is more marsh -like, in which the "uppermost" or most remote section of the marsh would be the true source. For example, the source of the River Tees is marshland . The furthest stream is also often called the head stream. Headwaters are often small streams with cool waters because of shade and recently melted ice or snow. They may also be glacial headwaters, waters formed by

624-454: The three forks of the upper Snoqualmie River also have notable waterfalls. The north fork has Fantastic Falls (35 ft) and Kanim Falls (200 ft). The middle fork has Nellie Falls (150 ft). And, the south fork has Twin Falls (135 ft), Middle Twin Falls , Upper Twin Falls , Weeks Falls , Upper Weeks Falls , Denny Camp Falls , Franklin Falls (135 ft), and Fall-into-the-Wall Falls (22 ft). Snoqualmie Falls

650-495: The towns of Carnation and Duvall becomes closed off. The last four times this happened were during the floods of 2020, 2009, 2006, and 1990. The river level of the Snoqualmie River is monitored by six USGS streamgages, one on each fork, one just above the falls, one below Carnation, and one near Duvall. Data from the streamgages are used by the National Weather Service for flood forecasting and warning. The Tolt River and

676-575: Was featured on the television series Twin Peaks . Shots of upriver Snoqualmie also feature in some of the show's title sequences. The Snoqualmie River has quite a few sections suitable for whitewater kayaking and rafting. It features run rate Class II to Class V+. The nearby Raging River also features a kayaking run. The Snoqualmie River is prone to flooding and typically sees multiple flood events annually that inundate local farmland and close low-lying roads. During record level floods, all road access to

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