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Pilchuck River

Coordinates: 47°54′13″N 122°5′27″W / 47.90361°N 122.09083°W / 47.90361; -122.09083
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Pilchuck River
Pilchuck River a few miles north of Snohomish
Map of the Pilchuck River highlighted in the Snohomish River watershed
Native namedxʷkʷiƛ̕əb (Lushootseed)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
RegionSnohomish County
CitiesSnohomish, Granite Falls
Physical characteristics
SourceCascade Range
 • coordinates47°59′19″N 121°40′43″W / 47.98861°N 121.67861°W / 47.98861; -121.67861[1]
 • elevation2,125 ft (648 m)[2]
MouthSnohomish River
 • coordinates
47°54′13″N 122°5′27″W / 47.90361°N 122.09083°W / 47.90361; -122.09083[1]
 • elevation
8 ft (2.4 m)[2]
Length40 mi (64 km)[2]
Basin size127 sq mi (330 km2)[3]
Discharge 
 • average467 cu ft/s (13.2 m3/s)
 • minimum36 cu ft/s (1.0 m3/s)
 • maximum5,050 cu ft/s (143 m3/s)

The Pilchuck River (Lushootseed: dxʷkʷiƛ̕əb)[4] is a river in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Snohomish River. The name is derived from the Chinook Jargon pilpil ("blood", "red") and chuck ("water"), or "red water".[5] The Lushootseed name means "flowing red," kʷiƛ̕ being an archaic term for "red" in Northern Lushootseed.[6]

Course

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The Pilchuck River originates in the Cascade Range. It flows generally west until it reaches Granite Falls, then it turns and flows south, passing by Lochsloy and Machias before emptying into the Snohomish River near Snohomish. The Snohomish River empties into Possession Sound, part of Puget Sound.[3]

The Pilchuck River flows alongside the Centennial Trail from roughly Machias to Snohomish.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pilchuck River
  2. ^ a b c Calculated via Google Earth
  3. ^ a b Washington Water Year 2005, USGS Water Resources Data
  4. ^ Bates, Dawn; Hess, Thom; Hilbert, Vi (1994). Lushootseed Dictionary. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-295-97323-4. OCLC 29877333.
  5. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  6. ^ Hess, Thom (1979). "Central Coast Salish Words for Deer: Their Wavelike Distribution". International Journal of American Linguistics. 45 (1): 5–16 – via JSTOR.