The Kalama River is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. Its entire course is contained in Cowlitz County, Washington. Calama River is an old variant name.[1]
The river is named for John Kalama, a Hawaiian employee of the Hudson's Bay Company and a Kanaka who made a living making containers for the salted salmon exported by the HBC. He drowned in the river.[2]
The Kalama River originates in the Cascade Range just south of Mount St. Helens. It flows generally west, joining the Columbia River near Kalama.