Skykomish River
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| Skykomish River | |
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 Skykomish River at Monroe, Washington in December, 2004
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| Regions | Snohomish County, King County |
| Major city | Monroe, Washington |
| Mouth | Snohomish River |
The Skykomish River is a Washington State river which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence of the North Fork of the Skykomish River and the South Fork of the Skykomish River approximately one mile east of Index, Washington, then flowing northwesterly towards Puget Sound . It is joined by the Sultan River at Sultan, Washington. And then meets the Snoqualmie River to form the Snohomish River at Monroe, Washington. The Snohomish River continues along the river valley eventually dumping into Port Gardner Bay on Possession Sound (Part of Puget Sound). United States Highway 2 and the BNSF Railway are routed to follow the Skykomish River to Stevens Pass (which is located at the headwaters of the Tye River, a tributary of the South Fork of the Skykomish River) and the Cascade Tunnel (also along the Tye River).
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[edit] North Fork
The headwaters of the North Fork of Skykomish River are located in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness near Dishpan Gap along the Pacific Crest Trail. The proposed Wild Sky Wilderness would protect tributaries and forests adjacent to the North Fork Skykomish, although not the river itself.
[edit] South Fork
The South Fork of Skykomish River begins at the confluence of the Tye River and the Foss River, which join east of Skykomish, Washington upstream of the Beckler and Miller Rivers.
[edit] History
Along the Skykomish and the South Fork of the Skykomish the current BNSF Railway (from 1970-1995 it was known as the Burlington Northern Railroad) was originally built by the Great Northern Railway in the 1890's to cross the Cascades at Stevens Pass. Stevens Pass is named after the Great Northern surveyor John Frank Stevens (who was also the designer and Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal). A historic railroad tunnel is located directly under Stevens Pass and the tunnels 1929 replacement (the current Cascade Tunnel, which is currently the 2nd longest railroad tunnel in North America at 7.8 miles long) is a few miles south of the pass along the Tye River. A small part of the waters going into the Tye River (and thus the Skykomish River) comes directly out of this original tunnel (as well as the newer Cascade Tunnel). An interpretive center is located near the headwaters of the Tye River for the Iron Goat Trail that describes the history of the area as well as the old railroad and new trail.
At the site of the interpretive center (which is also the headwaters of the Tye River) is the location of a great tragedy in America history, called the Wellington Disaster.
The Skykomish/North Fork of the Skykomish leading to Cady Pass was a well used Native American trail to cross the Cascades.
[edit] See also
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