Naches River
| Naches River | |
 |
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Washington |
| Regions | Yakima County, Kittitas County |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | Bumping River, Tieton River |
| Cities | Naches, Yakima |
| Source | Middle Fork Little Naches River |
| - location | Naches Pass |
| - elevation | 5,860 ft (1,786 m) |
| - coordinates | 47°1′52″N 121°23′59″W / 47.03111°N 121.39972°W |
| Mouth | Yakima River |
| - location | Yakima |
| - elevation | 1,079 ft (329 m) |
| - coordinates | 46°37′50″N 120°30′52″W / 46.63056°N 120.51444°WCoordinates: 46°37′50″N 120°30′52″W / 46.63056°N 120.51444°W |
| Length | 75 mi (121 km) |
| Discharge | for Naches |
| - average | 4,001 cu ft/s (113 m3/s) |
The Naches River is a tributary of the Yakima River in central Washington in the United States. Beginning as the Little Naches River, it is about 75 miles (121 km) long. After the confluence of the Little Naches and Bumping River the name becomes simply the Naches River. The Naches and its tributaries drain a portion of the eastern side of the Cascade Range, east of Mount Rainier and northeast of Mount Adams. In terms of discharge, the Naches River is the largest tributary of the Yakima River.
In its upper reaches, the Naches River basin includes rugged mountains and wildernesses. The lower Naches River and its tributary the Tieton River flow through valleys with towns and irrigated orchards northwest of Yakima, where the Naches River joins the Yakima River. Historically, the river served as an important travel corridor between the east and west sides of the Cascades, via Naches Pass, used by both Native Americans and settlers.
The river's name comes from the Indian words "naugh", meaning rough or turbulent, and "chez", meaning water.
The Little Naches River begins in several forks near Naches Pass and boundaries of Yakima County, Kittitas County, Pierce County, and King County. The Yakima-Kittitas county line follows the upper Little Naches and Naches rivers, but most of the Naches River basin is in Yakima County. Pierce and King counties are bounded by the water divide between Puget Sound and the Columbia River. Thus the tributaries of the Naches River reach up to, but not across, the Pierce and King county lines.
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