The Wynoochee River is a long river located in the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington.
Etymology
The name Wynoochee comes from the Lower Chehalis placename /xʷənúɬč/, meaning "shifting". The earliest recorded use of the geographic name is March 1, 1854.
Course
A tributary of the Chehalis River, the Wynoochee River rises in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park and flows generally south. Its drainage basin is in area.
Wynoochee Canyon
The river has created Wynoochee Canyon in the hills it passes through. The wreckage of a train including locomotive and rail cars blown up and smashed during the making of 1961 film Ring of Fire is in the canyon.
Wynoochee Dam and Lake
Wynoochee Lake dam ( in Grays Harbor County) is a concrete gravity dam in the Olympic National Forest on river mile 51.8 of the Wynoochee. Construction started in 1969 and was completed in 1972. The dam is used for flood control, water supply, recreation on its reservoir, Wynoochee Lake.
History
thumb|left|150px|Maidenhair Falls, West Branch Wynoochee River
The city of Montesano was a recipient of the installation of flood control measures near Montesano's wastewater treatment plant which rests near the river. As part of the Chehalis Basin Strategy, log jacks were placed during 2018-2019 that helped increase the riverbank of the migrating river, which was threatening the plant that during flooding would have inundated the community with sewage runoff. The fortification increased the habitat of aquatic species and extended the operating life of the plant by several decades.
See also
- List of Washington rivers
- Wynoochee Dam
- Grays Harbor County