Cowlitz River
| Cowlitz River | |
 The Cowlitz River at Kelso, Washington
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| Name origin: from the Salish, tawallitch, perhaps meaning "capturing the medicine spirit" | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Washington |
| Regions | Lewis County, Cowlitz County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Cispus River, Toutle River |
| - right | Tilton River |
| Cities | Packwood, Randle, Mossyrock, Toledo, Castle Rock, Longview, Kelso |
| Source | |
| - location | Packwood |
| - elevation | 1,190 ft (363 m) |
| - coordinates | 46°39′16″N 121°37′13″W / 46.65444°N 121.62028°W |
| Mouth | Columbia River |
| - location | Longview |
| - elevation | 3 ft (1 m) |
| - coordinates | 46°5′52″N 122°54′40″W / 46.09778°N 122.91111°WCoordinates: 46°5′52″N 122°54′40″W / 46.09778°N 122.91111°W |
| Length | 105 mi (169 km) |
| Basin | 2,586 sq mi (6,698 km2) |
| Discharge | for Castle Rock |
| - average | 9,122 cu ft/s (258 m3/s) |
| - max | 139,000 cu ft/s (3,936 m3/s) |
| - min | 998 cu ft/s (28 m3/s) |
 Map of the Cowlitz River watershed
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  Mouth of the Cowlitz River in Washington
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The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens.
The Cowlitz has a 2,586-square-mile (6,698 km2) drainage basin, located between the Cascade Range in eastern Lewis County, Washington and the cities of Kelso and Longview. The river is roughly 105 miles (169 km) long, not counting tributaries.
Major tributaries of the Cowlitz River include the Cispus River and the Toutle River, which was overtaken by volcanic mudflows (lahars) during the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
When the smelt spawn in the Cowlitz River, the gulls go into a feeding frenzy that lasts for weeks. Kelso, Washington is known as the "Smelt Capital of the World."
The Cowlitz River has three major hydroelectric dams, with several small-scale hydropower and sediment retention structures within the Cowlitz Basin.
The Cowlitz Falls Project is a 70 megawatt hydroelectric dam built in the early 1990s and completed in 1994. The dam is 140 feet (43 m) high and 700 feet (210 m) wide. The Cowlitz Falls Project produces on average 260 GWh annually for Lewis County PUD. Its reservoir, Lake Scanewa, is located at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Cispus Rivers downstream of Randle.
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Wikipedia