Skookumchuck River

The Skookumchuck River is a 45-mile (72 km) long[2] river located in southwest Washington, United States. It is a tributary of the Chehalis River and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The Skookumchuck Dam was built in 1970, creating the Skookumchuck Reservoir. The dam provides water supply for the 1400-megawatt Centralia Steam Electric Plant and supplements flows for fish resources. The river begins with several tributaries in the Snoqualmie National Forest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, and flows west past the town of Bucoda, Washington to its confluence with the Chehalis River near Centralia, Washington.

Skookumchuck River
Skookumchuck River in Bucoda, WA
Location of the mouth of the Skookumchuck River in Washington
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Lewis, Thurston
Physical characteristics
Source
• coordinates	46°42′28″N 122°26′41″W[1]
Mouth
• coordinates	46°43′10″N 122°58′55″W[1]
Length	45 mi (72 km)[2]
Basin size	181 sq mi (470 km2)[3]
Discharge
• location	river mile 6.4 near Bucoda[4]
• average	1,972 cu ft/s (55.8 m3/s)[4]
• minimum	40 cu ft/s (1.1 m3/s)
• maximum	8,560 cu ft/s (242 m3/s)

The name Skookumchuck derives from Chinook Jargon: in this context, "rapids". The word skookum means "strong", and chuck means "water".[5]